1. At the notes on Introduction (see the Introduction module in the class Modules on Canvas) you have a (rather dull) example of an explanation why John buys Budweiser while Pedro buys Corona beer. That explanation is a difference in the nearby stores pricing.

   1. Please propose your own theory why John buys Budweiser while Pedro buys Corona. Your explanation does not have to be true, but it must have those features that the book says a good model must have. And it should be general. (3)

   2. Describe how you would test your theory. Do not forget to describe what kind of the test outcomes would make you refute your theory. (3) If we tried to explain behaviour by referring to observable constraints (e.g., "I see that John buys Budweiser while Pedro buys Corona; that's because John lives next to a store that sells Budweiser cheaper while Pedro lives next to a store that sells Corona cheaper!"), our explanation would be refutable.

      • A way to summarize this is to say that we must assume that "all people are fundamentally the same."
        • e.g., in the above example, we assume that there is no difference in how John and Pedro like the two beers.
        • "to keep in mind" I: this is methodological (rather than philosophical) assumption - we do not mean to say that we know that the two guys like the two beers the same (or, in general, we know that all people equally like and want the same things) but rather that we must assume this for the sake of a testable explanation.
        • "to keep in mind" II: for any given situation you want to explain, it should be sufficient to assume that all (people) means whoever your explanation applies to (e.g., in the above example, John and Pedro are all people).
        • "to keep in mind" III: for any given situation you want to explain, it should be sufficient to assume that fundamentally (the same) means whatever is relevant to your explanation (e.g., in the above example, John and Pedro like beers the same; it really would not matter whether they differ in something that does not relate to their beer choices [e.g., whether they are different in heights, ages, jobs, etc.