Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 50 — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The ways of Science—2 by FRANK WILSON, B.Sc. In general and very roughly, scientific method is often called by the name “in- duction.” In fact, it is most often a combination of induc- tion and deduction. However, we shall go on to consider certain aspects of induction, the first of which is simple enumeration. This is a kind of induction which, though not deductively valid, is essential to the day to day running of our lives. In simple enumeration we say, for instance, “In all observed cases of tuberculosis, the tuberculous bacillus occurs; therefore, in all cases of tuberculosis, the tuberculous bacillus occurs.’’ Informally, we are very apt to say, ““Every time any one has ever seen A happen, B happens, too; so A is always accompanied by B.” We wouldn’t get very far if we didn’t reason like this—and science wouldn’t get very far if it on/y reasoned like this. Simple enumeration is a sort of best-we-can-do-at- the-moment reasoning. And a simple enumerative conclu- sion is completely disproved by the discovery of even one, contrary instance. The example usually given concerns swans. Once, it was commonly accepted that “‘All swans are white’ because no one had ever seen a swan that was not white. However, this conclusion had to be aban- doned without question as soon as black swans were found in Australia. The importance of simple enumeration in scientific method is that it is usually the first stage in the study of some topic. Without it, in the early stages, sciences could not begin. But it is certainly a method which should be aban- doned as soon as possible in the development of a science. Physics dropped it long ago. Psychology is in the process of dropping it now. It would be wrong to look upon simple enumeration asa process of mere counting. Counting it is, to be sure, but what are counted are in- 121 comiclooks.com