Counting the industrial revolution
J Hoppit - The Economic History Review, 1990 - Wiley Online Library
J Hoppit
The Economic History Review, 1990•Wiley Online LibraryIn all my experience… I have found how insecure all details of mere figures are upon which
to build an argument.… It is easy to add a little here, and subtract a little there; gently to slip
in a figure, it may be a cypher, among your data; slyly to make what seems a reasonable
postulate in your premises, but which turns out in the result to be a begging of the question‐
and behold you gain your point, and triumph, until it is found that your adversary, having
access to the same stores of arithmetic, just proves his case and refutes yours with the same …
to build an argument.… It is easy to add a little here, and subtract a little there; gently to slip
in a figure, it may be a cypher, among your data; slyly to make what seems a reasonable
postulate in your premises, but which turns out in the result to be a begging of the question‐
and behold you gain your point, and triumph, until it is found that your adversary, having
access to the same stores of arithmetic, just proves his case and refutes yours with the same …
In all my experience … I have found how insecure all details of mere figures are upon which to build an argument. … It is easy to add a little here, and subtract a little there; gently to slip in a figure, it may be a cypher, among your data; slyly to make what seems a reasonable postulate in your premises, but which turns out in the result to be a begging of the question‐and behold you gain your point, and triumph, until it is found that your adversary, having access to the same stores of arithmetic, just proves his case and refutes yours with the same facility.’(Lord Brougham, 1849)2
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