Somewhere along the line Rudy has picked up the word "physics" - or
"fidge-icks" as he calls it (he uses "fidge-icks" to justify demanding that a
concoction of orange juice and milk be left in the fridge for days in the
belief it will turn to jelly). At the same time, like other 5 year olds, he
holds that "I know everything". At the very same time, and without realising
any contradiction, he is still treating maths as a guessing game - someone
suggest some numbers, like '4' and '3', and he throws back some other number,
like '8'. It's all a game of numbers plucked out of thin air, with the only
rule being that when given two numbers, like '4 and 3', the answer has to be
one number, like '8'. This rule applies also to what Rudy calls 'taking away' -
some adult, or some computer programme like Mathswhizz, draws the numbers '4
take away 3' and the answer will again be a single number, like '8'. Applying
these rules, and knowing everything, Rudy is able to do maths on his own - i.e.
make up his own calculations. He then proudly presents this as a paper to adult
conference - for example, the carefully written out calculation '10 - 5 = 10'.
Conference does not look impressed, with murmurs the calculation is wrong. Rudy
insists "It's right". Conference raises its hands to display ten digits, so as
to manually display where Rudy's paper has gone wrong - by showing how many
digits are left when five fingers are folded away. Rudy's eyes glaze over as
the hands are raised. For a Popperian, there hangs in the air the faint threat
of an impending falsification by way of raised hands and digits - one that
might falsify not only Rudy's calculation but also his anti-fallibilistic
stance of "I know everything". But (as even Popperians know) a falsification
can always be evaded. Rudy looks at the assembled audience with disappointment
and points out the fundamental error in their assumption that he is doing maths
wrong - his tone exasperated with the confederacy of dunces before him: "I'm
not doing 'taking away' - I'm doing fidge-icks."
D
