An Actuarial Analysis of Retrospective Rating

Probably the most universal hallmark of the scientific mind is a persistent penchant for pigeonholing. This trait, which to the layman places the ultimate seal of futile dessication upon research and which has been the butt of a multitude of jokes down the centuries, is nevertheless one of the most potent instruments of investigation; for in the broad it leads to a proper perspective in viewing a given field, and in the narrow it leads to the delineation of distinctive relationships between the constituents of the field. The course often seems wayward and the ports of arrival startling even to the investigator, so that to maintain a balanced keel it is helpful for him to bear in mind Hosea Biglow's observation that "Facs are contrary 'z mules."