His was not the sort of whiggish, anecdotal approach by which senior scientists tend to ossify the progression from past obscurity to present clarity, but a deeper attempt to understand the twists and turns of theory and evidence, which ensure that even our present-day knowledge is provisional, and like life itself, historically constrained.
Cornerback Darius Butler was called for pass interference twice on the Jets' drive that gave them the two-touchdown lead, both on deep attempts.
Manning went 43 of 109 on the deep attempts, compiling 1,490 yards — also the most in the N.F.L. "Obviously, if you don't have that arm strength, you can't do certain things," the offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said.
Wilson was unsuccessful on his two deep attempts to Rice (neither of which were read or executed particularly well), but on other plays he did a good job of buying time and allowing his mid-level targets to work open.
Kessler came out throwing the ball - strong - on USC's first drive, though his two deep attempts to JuJu Smith-Schuster fell incomplete and so did a long throw to Steven Mitchell Jr.
And if one play foretold disaster it was Brees's deep attempt down the left sideline intended for Devery Henderson.
At a half mile down, the excavation would be the deepest attempted in the annals of archaeology.
It ended when he toe-ended the first ball of Maxwell's second spell to Starc in the deep attempting a ninth boundary.
He had effortlessly lifted the ball over the ropes on two occasions, highlighted by a perfectly-timed flick over mid-wicket, before falling for 17 in the deep attempting to replicate the stroke off Woakes.
There was a second failure for Alastair Cook, though, and Alex Hales, despite negotiating the new ball, was caught in the deep attempting to attack the off-spin of Dane Piedt.
