| A FORETALE OF FIVE PHILOSOPHERS OF SCIENCE |
| The five Wise Men of the Kingdom of * were back from their long sojourn in the remote Republic of **. They stood trembling before their terrible sovereign, the Queen of *. They had to report on the Strange Beast that dwells in the land they had visited. |
| "Tell Us, O wise Protos, what does the Strange Beast look like?" the Queen asked the elder sage. |
| "The Strange Beast they call Science, your Majesty, can register and compress all facts. In fact Science is a Recorder and Compactor all in one". Thus spake Protos. |
| "Off with his head!" shouted the Queen, purple with rage. "How could We believe that the Strange Beast is a mindless recorder if even We sometimes grope, doubt, and make the occasional mistake?" Whereupon she addressed Deuteros, the next oldest savant. |
| "Tell Us, O wise Deuteros, how the Strange Beast looks". |
| "The Strange Beast, your Majesty, is an information processor. It takes in tons of raw data which it processes to order. Science, in short, is a huge Computer". Thus spake Deuteros. |
| "Off with his head!" shouted the Queen, green with rage. "How could We believe that the Strange Beast is an automaton, if even We have dreams and whims?" Whereupon she addressed Tritos, the middle-aged sage. |
| "Tell us, O wise Tritos, what does the Strange Beast look like?" |
| "There is no such thing, your Majesty. Science is only a Game. Those who play it stipulate the rules, which they change from time to time in mysterious ways. Nobody knows what they play or to what purposeexcept perhaps to gain power. Let us agree then that Science, just like football, is a Game". Thus spake Tritos. |
| "Off with his head!" shouted the Queen, yellow with rage. "How could We believe that the Strange Beast could survive without taking |
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