Boards of Canada musically sampled Cooperative Extension Service outreach (2002):

Jarrod Fowler non-musically sampled Cooperative Extension Service outreach (2012):

Abstract
Sequences of seasonal events can be recorded to form biological calendars (biocalendars). A biocalendar of ornamental plant first flowering dates was composed to predict winter moth, Operophtera brumata (L.) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), first hatch dates in Massachusetts, USA. Results indicate first flowering of Pieris japonica (Thunb. D. Don ex G. Don) and Narcissus spp. predicts first hatch of winter moth; the biocalendar reliably outperforms a degree-day model. A biocalendar can consistently schedule monitoring and management of winter moth in coastal and eastern Massachusetts. Winter moth biocalendar phenology gardens are discussed. 
Full text

Abstract: As observation and empirical frameworks remain fundamental for ecological and field scientists, scientific realists and Non-epistemologists suggest for ‘abstract’, ‘unobservable’ entities to be treated equivalently and non-dialectically with ‘concrete’, ‘observable’ and empirically sufficient entities used in such frameworks. In order to pursue study from ‘unobservable’ entities equivalently to observables without necessary observational predication and possibly subsequent observer effect bias, a methodology was needed in order to fulfill such experimental criteria. Thus, an empty sampler was deemed methodologically germane to ‘inoperably sample’ two independent and unobservable experimental units from natural experiments: dramaturgical numbered Acts and Scenes from Stein (1922) and Extinction from Brassier (2007). Each natural experiment deployed anthropogenic perturbation and similar execution of ‘treatment’ application via nonrandomized block designs. Insofar as empty sampler was unable to collect, store, and subsequently observe and measure the interaction, variance, or experimental effects of and between each unit, our study remained without results. Future research and implications for both synthetic and non-synthetic transdisciplinarity are discussed, addressing experimental ecology, dramaturgy, and philosophy.

Keywords: empty sampler, extinction, Acts and Scenes, observer effect, scientific realism, transdisciplinarity, Non-epistemology, Ray Brassier, Gertrude Stein

The soundscape produced by Temple and Bocast is a compressed version of the chorus described by Leopold, taking 30 minutes of notes and compressing them into five minutes of recording. Bird songs and calls were obtained from the extensive collection housed at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library.

[NON-EVENT SCORE?]

Neutral and null models of Marc Baron compositions; "Seven" random replicates; P-valuelessness (Gotelli and Graves 1996; Connor 2004; Gelman and Stern 2006; Theme Park 2009; Cathnor 2012).

MUSIC-FICTION

THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY VOLUME LXVI, NO. 22, NOVEMBER 20, 1969

SCIENCE WITHOUT EXPERIENCE

PAUL K. FEYERABEND 

University of California 

London University

One of the most important properties of modern science, at least according to some of its admirers, is its universality: any question can be attacked in a scientific way, leading either to an unambiguous answer or else to an explanation of why an answer cannot be had. In the present note I shall ask whether the empirical hypothesis is correct, i.e., whether experience can be re- garded as a true source and foundation (testing ground) of knowledge. 

Asking this question and expecting a scientific answer assumes that a science without experience is a possibility; that is, it assumes that the idea is neither absurd nor self-contradictory. It must be possible to imagine a natural science without sensory elements, and it should perhaps also be possible to indicate how such a science is going to work. 

Now experience is said to enter science at three points: testing; assimilation of the results of test; understanding of theories. 

A test may involve complex machinery and highly abstract auxiliary assumptions. But its final outcome has to be recognized by a human observer who looks at some piece of apparatus and notices some observable change. Communicating the results of a test also involves the senses: we hear what somebody says to us; we read what somebody has written down. Finally, the abstract principles of a theory are just strings of signs, without relation to the external world, unless we know how to connect them with experiment, and that means, according to the first item on the list, with experience, involving simple and readily identifiable sensations. 

It is easily seen that experience is needed at none of the three points just mentioned. 

To start with, it does not need to enter the process of test: we can put a theory into a computer, provide the computer with suitable instruments directed by him (her, it) so that relevant measurements are made which return to the computer, leading there to an evaluation of the theory. The computer can give a simple yes-no response from which a scientist may learn whether or not a theory has been confirmed without having in any way participated in the test (i.e., without having been subjected to some relevant experience). 

Learning what a computer says means being informed about some simple occurrence in the macroscopic world. Usually such information travels via the senses, giving rise to distinct sensations. But this is not always the case. Subliminal perception leads to reactions directly, and without sensory data. Latent learning leads to memory traces directly, and without sensory data. Posthypnotic suggestion leads to (belated) reactions directly, and without sensory data. In addition there is the whole unexplored field of telepathic phenomena. I am not asserting that the natural sciences as we know them today could be built on these phenomena alone and could be freed from sensations entirely. Considering the peripheral nature of the phenomena and considering also how little attention is given to them in our education (we are not trained to use effectively our ability for latent learning) this would be both unwise and impractical. But the point is made that sensations are not necessary for the business of science and that they occur for practical reasons only. 

Considering now the objection that we understand our theories, that we can apply them, only because we have been told how they are connected with experience, one must point out that experience arises together with theoretical assumptions, not before them, and that an experience without theories is just as uncomprehended as is (allegedly) a theory without experience: eliminate part of the theoretical knowledge of a sensing subject and you have a person who is completely disoriented, incapable of carrying out the sim- plest action. Eliminate further knowledge and his sensory world (his "observation language") will start disintegrating; even colors and other simple sensations will disappear until he is in a stage even more primitive than a small child. A small child, on the other hand, does not possess a stable perceptual world which he uses for making sense of the theories put before him. Quite the contrary. He passes through various perceptual stages which are only loosely connected with each other (earlier stages disappear when new stages takes over) and which embody all the theoretical knowledge achieved at the time. Moreover, the whole process (including the very complex process of learning up to three or four languages) gets started only because the child reacts correctly toward signals, interprets them correctly, because he possesses means of interpretation even before he has experienced his first clear sensation. Again we can imagine that this interpretative apparatus acts without being accompanied by sensations (as do all reflexes and all well-learned movements such as typing). The theoretical knowledge it contains certainly can be applied correctly, though it is perhaps not understood. But what do sensations contribute to our understanding? Taken by themselves, i.e., taken as they would appear to a completely disoriented person, they are of no use, either for understanding, or for action. Nor is it sufficient to just link them to the existing theories. This would mean extending the theories by further elements so that we obtain longer expressions, not the understanding of the shorter expressions that we wanted. No-the sensations must be incorporated into our behavior in a manner that allows us to pass smoothly from them into action. But this returns us to the earlier situation where the theory was applied, but allegedly not yet understood. Understanding in the sense demanded here thus turns out to be ineffective and superfluous. Result: sensations can be eliminated from the process of understanding also (though they may of course continue to accompany it, just as a headache accompanies deep thought). 

I conclude with a few remarks on the observational-theoretical dichotomy. 

Most of the time the debates about this dichotomy concentrate on the question of its existence, not on the question of its purpose. We may readily admit the existence of statements that are examined by looking and of other statements that are examined with the help of complicated calculations, involving highly abstract theoretical assumptions. There are observational statements and theoretical statements in that sense. But there are also statements expressed by long sentences and statements expressed by short sentences, intuitively plausible statements and statements that either sound absurd or leave our intuitions unmoved, and so on and so forth. Why is it preferable to interpret theories on the basis of an observation language rather than on the basis of a language of intuitively evident statements (as was done only a few centuries ago and as must be done anyway, for observation does not help a disoriented person), or on the basis of a language containing short sentences (as is done in every elementary physics course)? Because observation is supposed to be a source (a testing ground) of knowledge. Is this supposition correct? And does it justify the use of observational languages for the explanation of theories? 

It justifies such use only if observation can be shown to be the only or the only trustworthy source of knowledge. On pages above we have seen that the first part is far from true. Knowledge can enter our brain without touching our senses. And some knowledge resides in the individual brain without ever having entered it. Nor is observational knowledge the most reliable knowledge we possess. Science took a big step forward when the Aristotelian idea of the reliability of our everyday experience was given up and was replaced by an empiricism of a more subtle kind. Later on progress was often made by following theory, not observation, and by rearranging our observational world in conformance with theoretical assumptions. In the struggle for better knowledge theory and observation enter on an equal footing, just as do intuitive plausibility and intuitive absurdity: the absurd theory may win the day and the plausible theory may have to be given up just as the refuted theory may win the day, pushing aside, and making irrelevant, the refuting observations (this is what happened, for example, at the time of Galileo). Empiricism, insofar as it goes beyond the invitation not to forget considering observations, is therefore an unreasonable doctrine, not in agreement with scientific practice. 

To sum up: a natural science without experience is conceivable. Conceiving a science without experience is an effective way of examining the empirical hypothesis that underlies much of science and is the conditio sine qua non of empiricism. Proceeding in this way, we may find methods that are more effective than plain and simple observation (just as Galileo found certain illusory phenomena to be more effective sources of astronomical knowledge than plain, direct, undiluted observation). Proceeding in this way of course means leaving the confines of empiricism and moving on to a more comprehensive and more satisfactory kind of philosophy.

Title VI. - USUFRUCT
CHAPTER 1 USUFRUCT IN GENERAL
Art. 562. Usufruct gives a right to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its form and substance, unless the title constituting it or the law otherwise provides. (467)

Art. 563. Usufruct is constituted by law, by the will of private persons expressed in acts inter vivos or in a last will and testament, and by prescription. (468)

Art. 564. Usufruct may be constituted on the whole or a part of the fruits of the thing, in favor of one more persons, simultaneously or successively, and in every case from or to a certain day, purely or conditionally. It may also be constituted on a right, provided it is not strictly personal or intransmissible. (469)

Art. 565. The rights and obligations of the usufructuary shall be those provided in the title constituting the usufruct; in default of such title, or in case it is deficient, the provisions contained in the two following Chapters shall be observed. (470)

CHAPTER 2 RIGHTS OF THE USUFRUCTUARY
Art. 566. The usufructuary shall be entitled to all the natural, industrial and civil fruits of the property in usufruct. With respect to hidden treasure which may be found on the land or tenement, he shall be considered a stranger. (471)

Art. 567. Natural or industrial fruits growing at the time the usufruct begins, belong to the usufructuary.

Those growing at the time the usufruct terminates, belong to the owner.

In the preceding cases, the usufructuary, at the beginning of the usufruct, has no obligation to refund to the owner any expenses incurred; but the owner shall be obliged to reimburse at the termination of the usufruct, from the proceeds of the growing fruits, the ordinary expenses of cultivation, for seed, and other similar expenses incurred by the usufructuary.

The provisions of this article shall not prejudice the rights of third persons, acquired either at the beginning or at the termination of the usufruct. (472)

Art. 568. If the usufructuary has leased the lands or tenements given in usufruct, and the usufruct should expire before the termination of the lease, he or his heirs and successors shall receive only the proportionate share of the rent that must be paid by the lessee. (473)

Art. 569. Civil fruits are deemed to accrue daily, and belong to the usufructuary in proportion to the time the usufruct may last. (474)

Art. 570. Whenever a usufruct is constituted on the right to receive a rent or periodical pension, whether in money or in fruits, or in the interest on bonds or securities payable to bearer, each payment due shall be considered as the proceeds or fruits of such right.

Whenever it consists in the enjoyment of benefits accruing from a participation in any industrial or commercial enterprise, the date of the distribution of which is not fixed, such benefits shall have the same character.

In either case they shall be distributed as civil fruits, and shall be applied in the manner prescribed in the preceding article. (475)

Art. 571. The usufructuary shall have the right to enjoy any increase which the thing in usufruct may acquire through accession, the servitudes established in its favor, and, in general, all the benefits inherent therein.(479)

Art. 572. The usufructuary may personally enjoy the thing in usufruct, lease it to another, or alienate his right of usufruct, even by a gratuitous title; but all the contracts he may enter into as such usufructuary shall terminate upon the expiration of the usufruct, saving leases of rural lands, which shall be considered as subsisting during the agricultural year. (480)

Art. 573. Whenever the usufruct includes things which, without being consumed, gradually deteriorate through wear and tear, the usufructuary shall have the right to make use thereof in accordance with the purpose for which they are intended, and shall not be obliged to return them at the termination of the usufruct except in their condition at that time; but he shall be obliged to indemnify the owner for any deterioration they may have suffered by reason of his fraud or negligence. (481)

Art. 574. Whenever the usufruct includes things which cannot be used without being consumed, the usufructuary shall have the right to make use of them under the obligation of paying their appraised value at the termination of the usufruct, if they were appraised when delivered. In case they were not appraised, he shall have the right to return at the same quantity and quality, or pay their current price at the time the usufruct ceases. (482)

Art. 575. The usufructuary of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs may make use of the dead trunks, and even of those cut off or uprooted by accident, under the obligation to replace them with new plants. (483a)

Art. 576. If in consequence of a calamity or extraordinary event, the trees or shrubs shall have disappeared in such considerable number that it would not be possible or it would be too burdensome to replace them, the usufructuary may leave the dead, fallen or uprooted trunks at the disposal of the owner, and demand that the latter remove them and clear the land.(484a)

Art. 577. The usufructuary of woodland may enjoy all the benefits which it may produce according to its nature.

If the woodland is a copse or consists of timber for building, the usufructuary may do such ordinary cutting or felling as the owner was in the habit of doing, and in default of this, he may do so in accordance with the custom of the place, as to the manner, amount and season.

In any case the felling or cutting of trees shall be made in such manner as not to prejudice the preservation of the land.

In nurseries, the usufructuary may make the necessary thinnings in order that the remaining trees may properly grow.

With the exception of the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, the usufructuary cannot cut down trees unless it be to restore or improve some of the things in usufruct, and in such case shall first inform the owner of the necessity for the work. (485)

Art. 578. The usufructuary of an action to recover real property or a real right, or any movable property, has the right to bring the action and to oblige the owner thereof to give him the authority for this purpose and to furnish him whatever proof he may have. If in consequence of the enforcement of the action he acquires the thing claimed, the usufruct shall be limited to the fruits, the dominion remaining with the owner. (486)

Art. 579. The usufructuary may make on the property held in usufruct such useful improvements or expenses for mere pleasure as he may deem proper, provided he does not alter its form or substance; but he shall have no right to be indemnified therefor. He may, however, remove such improvements, should it be possible to do so without damage to the property. (487)

Art. 580. The usufructuary may set off the improvements he may have made on the property against any damage to the same. (488)

Art. 581. The owner of property the usufruct of which is held by another, may alienate it, but he cannot alter its form or substance, or do anything thereon which may be prejudicial to the usufructuary. (489)

Art. 582. The usufructuary of a part of a thing held in common shall exercise all the rights pertaining to the owner thereof with respect to the administration and the collection of fruits or interest. Should the co-ownership cease by reason of the division of the thing held in common, the usufruct of the part allotted to the co-owner shall belong to the usufructuary. (490)

CHAPTER 3 OBLIGATIONS OF THE USUFRUCTUARY
Art. 583. The usufructuary, before entering upon the enjoyment of the property, is obliged:

(1) To make, after notice to the owner or his legitimate representative, an inventory of all the property, which shall contain an appraisal of the movables and a description of the condition of the immovables;
(2) To give security, binding himself to fulfill the obligations imposed upon him in accordance with this Chapter. (491)

Art. 584. The provisions of No. 2 of the preceding article shall not apply to the donor who has reserved the usufruct of the property donated, or to the parents who are usufructuaries of their children's property, except when the parents contract a second marriage. (492a)

Art. 585. The usufructuary, whatever may be the title of the usufruct, may be excused from the obligation of making an inventory or of giving security, when no one will be injured thereby. (493)

Art. 586. Should the usufructuary fail to give security in the cases in which he is bound to give it, the owner may demand that the immovables be placed under administration, that the movables be sold, that the public bonds, instruments of credit payable to order or to bearer be converted into registered certificates or deposited in a bank or public institution, and that the capital or sums in cash and the proceeds of the sale of the movable property be invested in safe securities.

The interest on the proceeds of the sale of the movables and that on public securities and bonds, and the proceeds of the property placed under administration, shall belong to the usufructuary.

Furthermore, the owner may, if he so prefers, until the usufructuary gives security or is excused from so doing, retain in his possession the property in usufruct as administrator, subject to the obligation to deliver to the usufructuary the net proceeds thereof, after deducting the sums which may be agreed upon or judicially allowed him for such administration. (494)

Art. 587. If the usufructuary who has not given security claims, by virtue of a promise under oath, the delivery of the furniture necessary for his use, and that he and his family be allowed to live in a house included in the usufruct, the court may grant this petition, after due consideration of the facts of the case.

The same rule shall be observed with respect to implements, tools and other movable property necessary for an industry or vocation in which he is engaged.

If the owner does not wish that certain articles be sold because of their artistic worth or because they have a sentimental value, he may demand their delivery to him upon his giving security for the payment of the legal interest on their appraised value. (495)

Art. 588. After the security has been given by the usufructuary, he shall have a right to all the proceeds and benefits from the day on which, in accordance with the title constituting the usufruct, he should have commenced to receive them. (496)

Art. 589. The usufructuary shall take care of the things given in usufruct as a good X of a family. (497)

Art. 590. A usufructuary who alienates or leases his right of usufruct shall answer for any damage which the things in usufruct may suffer through the fault or negligence of the person who substitutes him. (498)

Art. 591. If the usufruct be constituted on a flock or herd of livestock, the usufructuary shall be obliged to replace with the young thereof the animals that die each year from natural causes, or are lost due to the rapacity of beasts of prey.

If the animals on which the usufruct is constituted should all perish, without the fault of the usufructuary, on account of some contagious disease or any other uncommon event, the usufructuary shall fulfill his obligation by delivering to the owner the remains which may have been saved from the misfortune.

Should the herd or flock perish in part, also by accident and without the fault of the usufructuary, the usufruct shall continue on the part saved.

Should the usufruct be on sterile animals, it shall be considered, with respect to its effects, as though constituted on fungible things. (499a)

Art. 592. The usufructuary is obliged to make the ordinary repairs needed by the thing given in usufruct.

By ordinary repairs are understood such as are required by the wear and tear due to the natural use of the thing and are indispensable for its preservation. Should the usufructuary fail to make them after demand by the owner, the latter may make them at the expense of the usufructuary.(500)

Art. 593. Extraordinary repairs shall be at the expense of the owner. The usufructuary is obliged to notify the owner when the need for such repairs is urgent. (501)

Art. 594. If the owner should make the extraordinary repairs, he shall have a right to demand of the usufructuary the legal interest on the amount expended for the time that the usufruct lasts.

Should he not make them when they are indispensable for the preservation of the thing, the usufructuary may make them; but he shall have a right to demand of the owner, at the termination of the usufruct, the increase in value which the immovable may have acquired by reason of the repairs.(502a)

Art. 595. The owner may construct any works and make any improvements of which the immovable in usufruct is susceptible, or make new plantings thereon if it be rural, provided that such acts do not cause a diminution in the value of the usufruct or prejudice the right of the usufructuary. (503)

Art. 596. The payment of annual charges and taxes and of those considered as a lien on the fruits, shall be at the expense of the usufructuary for all the time that the usufruct lasts. (504)

Art. 597. The taxes which, during the usufruct, may be imposed directly on the capital, shall be at the expense of the owner.

If the latter has paid them, the usufructuary shall pay him the proper interest on the sums which may have been paid in that character; and, if the said sums have been advanced by the usufructuary, he shall recover the amount thereof at the termination of the usufruct. (505)

Art. 598. If the usufruct be constituted on the whole of a patrimony, and if at the time of its constitution the owner has debts, the provisions of Articles 758 and 759 relating to donations shall be applied, both with respect to the maintenance of the usufruct and to the obligation of the usufructuary to pay such debts.

The same rule shall be applied in case the owner is obliged, at the time the usufruct is constituted, to make periodical payments, even if there should be no known capital. (506)

Art. 599. The usufructuary may claim any matured credits which form a part of the usufruct if he has given or gives the proper security. If he has been excused from giving security or has been able to give it, or if that given is not sufficient, he shall need the authorization of the owner, or of the court in default thereof, to collect such credits.

The usufructuary who has given security may use the capital he has collected in any manner he may deem proper. The usufructuary who has not given security shall invest the said capital at interest upon agreement with the owner; in default of such agreement, with judicial authorization; and, in every case, with security sufficient to preserve the integrity of the capital in usufruct. (507)

Art. 600. The usufructuary of a mortgaged immovable shall not be obliged to pay the debt for the security of which the mortgage was constituted.

Should the immovable be attached or sold judicially for the payment of the debt, the owner shall be liable to the usufructuary for whatever the latter may lose by reason thereof. (509)

Art. 601. The usufructuary shall be obliged to notify the owner of any act of a third person, of which he may have knowledge, that may be prejudicial to the rights of ownership, and he shall be liable should he not do so, for damages, as if they had been caused through his own fault. (511)

Art. 602. The expenses, costs and liabilities in suits brought with regard to the usufruct shall be borne by the usufructuary. (512)

CHAPTER 4 EXTINGUISHMENT OF USUFRUCT
Art. 603. Usufruct is extinguished:

(1) By the death of the usufructuary, unless a contrary intention clearly appears;
(2) By the expiration of the period for which it was constituted, or by the fulfillment of any resolutory condition provided in the title creating the usufruct;
(3) By merger of the usufruct and ownership in the same person;
(4) By renunciation of the usufructuary;
(5) By the total loss of the thing in usufruct;
(6) By the termination of the right of the person constituting the usufruct;
(7) By prescription. (513a)

Art. 604. If the thing given in usufruct should be lost only in part, the right shall continue on the remaining part. (514)

Art. 605. Usufruct cannot be constituted in favor of a town, corporation, or association for more than fifty years. If it has been constituted, and before the expiration of such period the town is abandoned, or the corporation or association is dissolved, the usufruct shall be extinguished by reason thereof. (515a)

Art. 606. A usufruct granted for the time that may elapse before a third person attains a certain age, shall subsist for the number of years specified, even if the third person should die before the period expires, unless such usufruct has been expressly granted only in consideration of the existence of such person. (516)

Art. 607. If the usufruct is constituted on immovable property of which a building forms part, and the latter should be destroyed in any manner whatsoever, the usufructuary shall have a right to make use of the land and the materials.

The same rule shall be applied if the usufruct is constituted on a building only and the same should be destroyed. But in such a case, if the owner should wish to construct another building, he shall have a right to occupy the land and to make use of the materials, being obliged to pay to the usufructuary, during the continuance of the usufruct, the interest upon the sum equivalent to the value of the land and of the materials. (517)

Art. 608. If the usufructuary shares with the owner the insurance of the tenement given in usufruct, the former shall, in case of loss, continue in the enjoyment of the new building, should one be constructed, or shall receive the interest on the insurance indemnity if the owner does not wish to rebuild.

Should the usufructuary have refused to contribute to the insurance, the owner insuring the tenement alone, the latter shall receive the full amount of the insurance indemnity in case of loss, saving always the right granted to the usufructuary in the preceding article. (518a)

Art. 609. Should the thing in usufruct be expropriated for public use, the owner shall be obliged either to replace it with another thing of the same value and of similar conditions, or to pay the usufructuary the legal interest on the amount of the indemnity for the whole period of the usufruct. If the owner chooses the latter alternative, he shall give security for the payment of the interest. (519)

Art. 610. A usufruct is not extinguished by bad use of the thing in usufruct; but if the abuse should cause considerable injury to the owner, the latter may demand that the thing be delivered to him, binding himself to pay annually to the usufructuary the net proceeds of the same, after deducting the expenses and the compensation which may be allowed him for its administration. (520)

Art. 611. A usufruct constituted in favor of several persons living at the time of its constitution shall not be extinguished until death of the last survivor. (521)

Art. 612. Upon the termination of the usufruct, the thing in usufruct shall be delivered to the owner, without prejudice to the right of retention pertaining to the usufructuary or his heirs for taxes and extraordinary expenses which should be reimbursed. After the delivery has been made, the security or mortgage shall be cancelled. (522a)