I thought some of you might enjoy this quote
from Bertrand Russell on the assumption of
the uniformity of natural causes:
ON INDUCTION, OR "WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THE SUN WILL RISE TOMORROW?":
... THE FARMER WHO HAS FED THE CHICKEN EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT ITS
LIFE AT LAST WRINGS ITS NECK INSTEAD, SHOWING THAT MORE REFINED VIEWS
AS TO THE UNIFORMITY OF NATURE WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL TO THE CHICKEN.
-- BERTRAND RUSSELL
Perhaps a cautionary note for those of us who are tempted to place
too much faith in inductive arguments!
Stan Zygmunt
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, IN 46383