‘It is possible to find the truth without controls, but the process has
been demonstrated again and again to be notably inefficient, so that
years may be required before it is appreciated that a given treatment
is worthless . . . . If one doubts the necessity for controls, reflect on
the following statement: “It has been conclusively demonstrated by
hundreds of experiments that the beating of tom-toms will restore the
sun after an eclipse.” ’
-E. B. Wilson, 1952. An Introduction to ScientiJic Research, p. 41.