# Russells Chicken Bertrand Russell illustrated in his story of the chicken that even mere predictions can never be justified by observational evidence. The chicken noticed that the farmer came every day to feed it. It *predicted* that the farmer would continue to bring food every day. Inductivists think that the chicken had ‘extrapolated’ its observations into a theory, and that each feeding time added justification to that theory. Then one day the farmer came and wrung the chicken’s neck. The disappointment experienced by Russell’s chicken has also been experienced by trillions of other chickens. This inductively justifies the conclusion that induction cannot justify any conclusions! --- Date: 20240913 Links to: [Fabric of Reality](Fabric%20of%20Reality.md) [Induction is Impossible](Induction%20is%20Impossible.md) Tags: References: * []()