So: two apparent episodes of falsification; with hindsight, one was a triumph of Newtonian gravity, falsifying not the theory but our auxiliary assumptions about the solar system and leading to the discovery of the eighth planet; the other was a true falsification, explained by the wholesale replacement of Newtonian gravity with a new and improved theory. But only with hindsight can these distinctions be drawn: there was nothing inherently unreasonable about the idea of Vulcan, and no improvement in scientific method could or should have told scientists not to postulate it.
main. only with hindsight conclusion can be drawn.
