AD 1997

Ep. 5 Page 14

Author notes

Ep. 5 Page 14

Abt_Nihil
on

Anyone remember Naomi…?

Nelson Goodman's "Fact, Fiction and Forecast" is actually one of the classics of 20th century philosophy. It is known mainly for introducing the "new riddle of induction".

EDIT:

DAJB: Thanks! The Silver Surfer guy is only half-new… you've just never seen him that way before :-D See Midge's comment!

Midge: Another no-prize scored… I've gotta ship them to you sometime! Indeed, it's the reactor guy. As for the silly riddle… well, it's not so silly if you think about it… laws of nature depend on universal generalizations, but there's no (logical) way of telling accidental from necessary generalizations. Compare: Everyone in this room is a third son. The melting point of every piece of radium is 973 K (1292° F). Only the latter holds necessarily… but how are we to tell necessary generalizations from accidental? Goodman examined so-called projectible predicates which should ensure this necessary relation… but it turns out there's no way to define "projectible" without a vicious circle. That's how I perceive the riddle, and it's relevant for any form of empirical science.

Nepath: Thanks, I agree. Though being able to make half an episode without the main character is a good sign, I think :D

Midge (again): Heh, I really thought you found it silly XD Because honestly, when I read about the "grue/bleen" predicates for the first time I reacted similarly… "Abt" is the translation of "Abbott". Abt Nihil would be like the head of a nihilistic monastery… but that's more of a pun than a statement of my personal faith :D And I really should be a Phenomenologist, shouldn't I? Maybe I'm not as patriotic as I'm supposed to be… :D

Fitz: Thanks! My favorite commenter is back! Heheh… my fav next to Midge and DAJB, the trinity :D I'm looking forward to seeing your color grace my drawings… I'm much better with gray tones I have to say. Plus gray tones can be done so much faster! And speaking of color, if I remember correctly grue/bleen is defined as "green (blue) if observed before t and blue (green) if not observed before t". Just another simple color predicate :D

Scorpious: Thanks a lot, the MAXX is one of my personal favorite comics of all time… I'm flattered to say the least.

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