Jumping to the wrong conclusion

The Case of the Boxed Frog

A young research scientist was due to give an inaugural lecture. He wanted to impress with an incisive and original demonstration. But what to do? For awhile he had conjectured about frogs' hearing; they were infamous for croaking, but where were their ears?

He took an amphibian and placed it in a box. He shouted the order to jump, and it did so. He did this again and again, and every time the frog inside vibrated the box violently with his leaping. This was demonstrated to a group of scientist friends. At the end he concluded that he had proved frogs could hear and react, and he was going to reveal where their ears were.

The fellowship was hushed as he removed the imprisoned amphibian and swiftly used a scalpel to sever it legs. There were cries of distaste from the gathering. He re-incarcerated the frog in its box and repeated the instructions to jump, in exactly the same way as before.

To the puzzled looks of his audience, he exclaimed, "There now, I have proved the ears of a frog are in its legs. Before, when I ordered a jump it did so, and now that it is legless, it does not respond at all."

He expected applause for his cunning, but, instead, for several minutes he was greeted by a stunned silence.

A student fellow raised his hand to speak.

"Sir, have you tried cutting off a frog's legs one at a time?"

"No. What further evidence would that present?" replied the frog surgeon.

"Sir, I just thought that it might have the effect of causing the frog to speak." came the reply.

"Student, you are being absurd. What significance would its croaking be?"

Stifling laughter, the incorrigible youth rejoined: "It might scream out that you didn't half make it jump." He collapsed with laughter as the whole auditorium seemed to join him, even the lecturer's peers. Some were standing to leave, embarrassed by the folly of their colleague.

One person however stood at her seat, and she cried out in a loud, authoritative voice "Where are the ears of the cricket to be found?"

The youth who had impertinently embarrassed the visiting lecturer but had great respect for the interventionist, returned and slowly raised his hand.

"In its knees, I believe." he said in a restrained tone to the quiet assembly.

The auditorium cleared slowly and silently. They were all the wiser, but some wiser than others.