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But -- how do you distinguish observations like "I banged on sticks to keep
the elephants away, and the elephants didn't come" from "I packed the fish in
salt and then it didn't spoil?"
That is -- how does one distinguish perfectly valid observations that are
really magical thinking from similarly valid observations that are actually
accurate reflections of the functioning of the natural world?
Well, yes I think so. Historically observations by scientists in the
18 and 19 centuries (and earlier) certainly were not "gold standard"
but did advance our understanding and laid a basis for further
understanding of the natural world.
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