ABSTRACT
This chapter assumes that most people do indeed have scientific thoughts about situations which matter to them. In it I present an account of an episode
from everyday life which had critical consequences for the actors concerned. I use it to illustrate theories of science, everyday life and of narrative that bridge the gap between the rhetoric and lived experience. I propose a model of man that will generate the patterns of behaviour in the account. But its significance could be far greater. It is a model against which we can test attempts to explain science to the layman to see whether they will work; and if not, to see why not. In doing so I introduce the concept ‘Vernacular Science’, a way of thinking that operates in everyday life and, in this case, has distinct survival advantages.
