Genteel

I've been reading Percival Lowell's Mars, the seminal 1895 work. In it, the famed astronomer examines the planet with care and in detail, and despite classic use of logic and deduction, manages to get almost everything completely wrong. Such is science.

Anyways, in one passage Lowell states:

"...with about as much probability... as that a chance collection of numbers should take the form of the multiplication table."

Which is the polite and scientific way of saying "when monkeys fly out of my
butt".

Posted by Ted at June 28, 2004 04:57 AM | TrackBack