"WHAT IS MR. X?" 271 



investigation a knowledge of Mr. X other than that 

 which can be expressed in numerical form so as to 

 be passed through a succession of mathematical 

 equations. 



Mathematics is the model of exact inference; and 

 in physics we have endeavoured to replace all cruder 

 inference by this rigorous type. Where we cannot 

 complete the mathematical chain we confess that we are 

 wandering in the dark and are unable to assert real 

 knowledge. Small wonder then that physical science 

 should have evolved a conception of the world consisting 

 of entities rigorously bound to one another by mathe- 

 matical equations forming a deterministic scheme. This 

 knowledge has all been inferred and it was bound there- 

 fore to conform to the system of inference that was used. 

 The determinism of the physical laws simply reflects 

 the determinism of the method of inference. This soulless 

 nature of the scientific world need not worry those who 

 are persuaded that the main significances of our en- 

 vironment are of a more spiritual character. Anyone 

 who studied the method of inference employed by the 

 physicist could predict the general characteristics of 

 the world that he must necessarily find. What he could 

 not have predicted is the great success of the method — 

 the submission of so large a proportion of natural 

 phenomena to be brought into the prejudged scheme. 

 But making all allowance for future progress in develop- 

 ing the scheme, it seems to be flying in the face of 

 obvious facts to pretend that it is all comprehensive, 

 Mr. X is one of the recalcitrants. When sound-waves 

 impinge on his ear he moves, not in accordance with a 

 mathematical equation involving the physical measure 

 numbers of the waves, but in accordance with the 

 meaning that those sound-waves are used to convey. To 



