Thanks for the comment! Yeah, “too strong” is mostly a suggestive phrase for figuring out what to test next. But somehow it works better than it has any right to. For example:
Hermione makes a prediction which is “too strong” in that it predicts anything spilled on the robe will vanish; but also “too weak” in that it predicts the soda will not vanish if spilled on the floor.
Let’s just chase the “too strong” angle in the ordinary English sense, without thinking about it too deeply. You spill something else on your robe and it doesn’t vanish, so you come up with the next hypothesis—that the unique combination of robe and soda is doing the trick. That hypothesis also sounds “too strong” somehow, and the obvious test is to try spilling the soda on the floor. Then the soda vanishes and you have your answer.
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, “too strong” is mostly a suggestive phrase for figuring out what to test next. But somehow it works better than it has any right to. For example:
Let’s just chase the “too strong” angle in the ordinary English sense, without thinking about it too deeply. You spill something else on your robe and it doesn’t vanish, so you come up with the next hypothesis—that the unique combination of robe and soda is doing the trick. That hypothesis also sounds “too strong” somehow, and the obvious test is to try spilling the soda on the floor. Then the soda vanishes and you have your answer.
So her tests weren’t “powerful” enough to “prove” her hypothesis.