And How Do We Go About It?
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1.  Get a LARGE, COMPLETE set of stars,
    with measurable DISTANCES

2.  Correct for any known incompleteness,
    extinction, differential density
    distributions

3.  Derive the PDLF

4.  Convert luminosities into masses

5.  ASSUME the star formation history,
    use the main-seq. aging relations

6.  Derive the IMF

7.  Learn about the physics of star
    formation, evolution of the Galaxy,
    dark matter in the disk, brown dwarfs,
    etc.