members of the board finally prove that Hans’s so-called
abilities were fake? They designed a series of scientific
experiments. The simplest involved blindfolding the horse
or having the trainer ask his questions out of Hans’s line of
sight. As expected, suddenly his amazing intellect
disappeared. The most interesting tests of all involved
having the trainer ask the horse questions the trainer himself
did not know the answers to. Guess what? If the trainer
didn’t know the answer, neither did Hans.
THE POINT here, of course, is that
designing a successful experiment—whether it involves a
mathematical horse or takes place in your own kitchen—is
about eliminating the bias of the experimenter (in this case,
you). This isn’t always easy to do, but it’s almost always
possible.
Let me tell you about an experiment I carried out a little
while back to illustrate the seven key steps to a good tasting
in the kitchen: eliminate bias, introduce a control, isolate
variables, stay organized, address palate fatigue, taste, and
analyze.
IS NEW YORK PIZZA REALLY
ALL ABOUT THE WATER?
Just as jocks like to stick together and nerds travel in packs,
obsessives bordering on the psychotic (like me) seek out the
acquaintance of others like themselves, in a manner that