84 ON A QUESTION IN THE THEORY OF PROBABILITIES. [318 
Prof. Boole, in his reply, dated April 2, writes, “No such explanation as you 
desiderate of the interpretation of the auxiliary quantities in my method of solution 
is possible; because they are not of the nature of additional data, and their introduction 
does not limit the problem as any hypotheses which are of that nature do. I do not 
see any difficulty whatever in the conception of the ideal problem.” 
We thus join issue as follows: Prof. Boole says that there is no difficulty in 
understanding, I say that I do not understand, the rationale of his solution. 
It may be remarked that the question may be, not to find any actual probability 
whatever, but only to find a Boolian probability or probabilities. Thus the equations (L), 
p. 356, omitting the last member, which alone involves u, determine in terms of the 
data a, /3, ap, f3q the Boolian probabilities x, y, s, t of the events А, В, AE, BE. 
In a subsequent hastily-written letter, Prof. Boole gives an explanation of the 
equations (L), which appears to me little more than a translation of these equations 
into ordinary language. 
April 16, 1862.