Re: "experiment" Re: Waradpande seems to have destroyed PIE already

On Dec 3, 11:08 am, Franz Gnaedinger <f...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Dec 3, 4:48 pm, "Peter T. Daniels" <gramma...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

An experiment is when one (a scientist, generally) tests a hypothesis
by setting up some controlled environment of interest, varying the
parameters (one at a time, ideally) by controlled increments, and
observing the results. With a good hypothesis, the results will
conform to expectations. With an inadequate hypothesis, they won't,
and the hypothesis will need revising or replacing (and science will
have been done).

Peter, for heavens sake: a production
editor at Gorgias

How dare you associate me with that charnel-house of a "publisher."

should know that one absolutely can't
give a definition in the form of: X is when ...

Why not? That's what we were told in elementary school, but later on
it was pointed out that there's nothing whatsoever ungrammatical or
uninterpretable about the construction, and it is in common, everyday
use.

And then you make the mistake of describing
one specific sort of experiments. If you go from practice
to definition, you should mention different kinds of
experiments, and then find what they have in common,
thus arriving at a true definition.

What are some other "kinds of experiments"? In particular, what are
some "experiments" that resemble your fantasies about "Magdalenian"?

When Tolkien invented languages, and then invented a civilization for
them to be spoken in, was he "experimenting"? What were the results of
the "experiments"?

.