Measuring and Reasoning by Fred L. Bookstein - 9781107024151

Measuring and ReasoningNumerical Inference in the Sciences\nAuthor(s): Fred L. Bookstein\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781107024151, 978-1107024151\nSynopsis\nIn Measuring and Reasoning, Fred L. Bookstein examines the way ordinary arithmetic and numerical patterns are translated into scientific understanding, showing how the process relies on two carefully managed forms of argument: Abduction: the generation of new hypotheses to accord with findings that were surprising on previous hypotheses, and Consilience: the confirmation of numerical pattern claims by analogous findings at other levels of measurement. These profound principles include an understanding of the role of arithmetic and, more importantly, of how numerical patterns found in one study can relate to numbers found in others. More than 200 figures and diagrams illuminate the text. The book can be read with profit by any student of.