I have the fourth edition of "What Is This Thing Called Science?" and I've noticed something peculiar.
In chapter 5, on page 61, the following two laws are noted:
(a) Mars moves in an ellipse around the sun.
(b) All planets move in ellipses around their sun.
Chalmers writes that (b) tells us more than (a) => (b) is more falsifiable than (a) => (b) is the preferable law.
However, on pages 63/64 I find these two laws:
(1) Planets move in ellipses around the sun.
(2) Planets move in closed loops around the sun.
Chalmers then writes that (1) is more precise than (2) => (1) is more falsifiable than (2) => (1) is the preferable law.
Is Chalmers contradicting himself here or am I missing something?