Un-Priori

My physical therapist told me I'd need to ice my knee for a few days. I asked if it would need more than one icing per day. She laughed bitterly. "More than once per day? I should hope so!" It was plainly ridiculous to imagine any therapeutic effect at all from a mere single application. I was directed to ice it three times. She was making an a priori argument in a situation that couldn't support it. If 5 icings were required, or 20 or 150, one might just as easily ridicule the notion of three daily icings. Years earlier, a friend invited me along to a Wayne Shorter concert. He had an extra ticket. As we filed into our seats for the performance, I asked how much I owed him. "$100" he said. My mouth fell agape. "A hundred dollars? Really?" He looked at me like I was a boob. "It's Wayne Shorter! A legend! Would you really argue that Wayne Shorter isn't worth $100?" "Why not $13,000?" I replied. Is Wayne Shorter not worth $13,000? Honestly, a mere thirteen grand sounds like a steal to…