Not really,,, lets call it.... 'observational science'. You see a pattern, in this case, how so many book worms wear glasses and then look at what all book worms have in common, IE they read allot, and since you use your eyes to read... aha, aha (Mystikmind points his figer in the air expressing an idea) Reading must be bad for your eyes.
There is no escaping statistics, they always point directly to the cause unless God is playing a practical joke or somthing?
sorry mystic, observation and statistical demogarphy aren't the same. you failed to consider one thing: that your 'science' based on observation lacks the systematicity of science. here's a counter-factual. many people only need to wear glasses for certain tasks like driving or reading. if you observe people only while they're reading books, you're therefore likley to observe a higher rate of people wearing glasses while reading. if you observe a general population throughout the course of a day, i think you might find an equal rate of people who wear glasses in both populations: i can't say without actually doing the study or working from a set of survey data with the appropriate questions. in any case, nothing about your observations discounts this counter-factual
Yes, books are probably the purest form of reading, but if you spend most of your time in front of a computer, like me, you still do some reading.
ahhh you've just touched on one of the primary observations behind "ethno-literacy" (a nickname made up by one of my professors for her own pet intrests, but there are corelate researchers in anthopology, linguistics, education studies, etc). anyway, it's the idea that (and study of) certain forms of marignalized literacy, including those treated as a given in a particular society and not considered
real reading or writing because of their utilitarian value. if you can fill out a personal check faster and more legibly than 99.9% of people, does that make you a good writer? why or (presumably) why not? what's to say the "purest" form of writing isn't the first form - cuneiform - and the first use, which was to tabulate and track accounts and inventory. read any good financial reports lately?
I blame American culture, we British- Greatest nation in the world(ROFL), has the given the world the best Sci fi ever, John Wyndham, H.G wells, Arthur C. Clarke among other. And the 'New world' gave us in return, L. Ron Hubbard and scientology.
HEY! Frank Herbert was an American, and i think some of us are still trying to postumously exile Hubbard.
