Not drowning, counting

["Geoffrey Dabb" <>]

You might have heard on Radio National this morning Dr Peter Doherty talking about his new book, and giving a big plug to bird-counting by amateurs as an important contribution to the science of ornithology.  In passing he mentioned the aphorism:  “All science is counting”.  This makes me slightly uneasy because it is a short step to “All counting is science”, a doubtful proposition, but entertained by some.  You need to count the right things, surely.  So many counters out there, so many things.