  Einstein was deeply puzzled by the success of natural science, and thought
that we would never be able to explain it. He came to this conclusion on the
ground that we cannot extract the basic laws of physics from experience using
induction or deduction, and he took this to mean that they cannot be arrived at
in a logical manner at all. In this paper I use Charles Peirce's logic of
abduction, a third mode of reasoning different from deduction and induction,
and show that it can be used to explain how laws in physics are arrived at,
thereby addressing Einstein's puzzle about the incomprehensible
comprehensibility of the universe. Interpreting Einstein's reflections in terms
of Peirce's abduction also sheds light on abduction itself, by seeing it
applied in an area where our common sense, and with that our intuitions, give
us little or no guidance, and is even prone to lead us astray.
