by Justice Arthur KelseyFrom ancient conjurers to modern scientists, those claiming to understand the nature of matter and energy often refer to their conclusions as “laws.” Why would they do that? Newton’s Law of Gravity, for example, could just as easily be called the gravity principle or Newton’s axiom. Even so, scientists instinctively use the argot of lawyers and judges. Justice Kelsey explores the reasons why we think in legal terms when trying to understand the cosmos.
