If the warm weather had held out, this would not have happened. But since it did happen, I need help to grasp what the truth actually is in this matter.
The next day after it snowed, I was sitting in Amy's Bakery having a banana muffin with my friend, Dr. Herbert, the logician, and his son, Melvin. Looking out the window, the young boy pointed to a rectangular spot, bare of snow, on alongside that road which runs along the railroad track. He asked: “How come there’s no snow on that spot?”
I am aware that Dr. and Mrs. Herbert read a lot of books on enlightened parenting, so I restrained myself from telling Melvin what a stupid jerk of a kid his is – undoubtedly a true embarrassment to his father – for asking such a dumb question. Instead, in a very patient and mature manner I explained to him that a car had been parked there, so that the snow had been blocked from falling on the ground in that spot.
At that point, Dr. Herbert interrupted:
“How do you know that I car was parked there?”
I was amazed. Could Dr. Herbert be a big of a dolt as his asinine son?
“Well,” I said, “It is obvious that a car was there. We can tell because of the rectangular-shaped, snow-free spot!”
Dr. Herbert then accused me of circular reasoning. He pointed out that I was explaining the snow-free spot with a hypothesis that a car must have been parked there, and then saying that I know a car was there because of the spot. He said: “That is tautological reasoning.”
I didn’t know what to say. I got up and walked to the front to the store to see if Amy had any banana bread.