William James
What is a "White Crow"? You might ask. Well, in the Russian culture a white crow is someone who doesn't fit in; someone who follows their own path.....
Title: "White Crow"
It illustrates the basis of scientific theory.
The story runs something like as follows:
A Master asks her student:
"How might we prove the theory that all crows are black?"
The student replies:
"We must go out in the field and look at crows. If they are all black we have proved the theory."
Master:
"Surely one black crow is not enough?"
The student agrees:
"We must have replication to ensure the validity of our data We must observe many crows."
Master:
"How many black crows will prove that all crows are black?"
Student:
"Aaaahhh..... the trap is made clear. Seeing 10 black crows is not enough, neither is seeing 100 or 1000. In fact, we can never PROVE that all crows are black unless we could see every single crow."
Master:
"True, however, we can DISPROVE the theory that all crows are black
by observing even a single white crow!"