Principles of Experimentation

Each morning, I make the coffee for my office. Many people like it very strong, and a few people like it very weak. I like it somewhere in the middle. Ever since I have begun making the coffee, I have been carrying on experiments with it. Sometimes I will gradually reduce the amount of coffee grounds I put in the coffee maker, to see how long it takes for those who like strong coffee to complain. Sometimes I gradually increase the amount of coffee grounds I put in the coffee maker, to see how long it takes for those who like weak coffee to complain. Sometimes I purposefully make too few cups of coffee, and see who asks for more first; sometimes I purposefully make too much coffee, and see if anyone complains at the waste.

I know that this means that everyone thinks I do not know how to make coffee, or at least am very bad at it. But they do not know they are a part of a set of secret and beautiful experiments in human nature. Because of this secret, their complaints feel like small victories. If I were to arrange my whole life according to this principle of experimentation, perhaps all objections others have to me would only contribute to my sense of discovery, and of scientific determination.