“Once upon a time, there was a caveman named Fred. (I refuse to name him “Oog” or something, just on principle.) Fred was a very bright guy, but he had absolutely no knowledge of the laws of nature. Please don’t ask how poor Fred managed to grow up this way: it’s a sad sort of story, and not terribly relevant to my moral . . . ”

Wait right there. Don’t worry, we’ll get back to Fred later but for now — let me give you some background. Tonight’s subject is the Scientific Method.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? If not, let me refresh your memory. It’s that set of guidelines made famous by such films as Armageddon and Deep Impact, and it allows scientists (or actors pretending to be scientists) to deduce complex theory from first principle.