Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Randomness is a Matter of Information
How many pads of paper do I have on my desk right now? How many books are on my shelves this minute? You don't know the answer to any of…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Peer Review and Proof
Suppose that I today, below, in this post, prove to you a certain mathematics theorem, say, "The Symmetry of Individual Constants." Is that theorem true? Before you answer, consider that…
Posted inPhilosophy
What Do Philosophers Believe? Survey: Part II
Read Part I. Epistemic justification: internalism or externalism? 43% went with externalism, about 26% with internalism. It is impossible to write about this without sounding goofy or repetitive. Briefly, internalism…
Posted inPhilosophy
What Do Philosophers Believe? Survey: Part I
What are the answers to The Big Questions? A survey was taken to discover what professional philosophers thought. We'll have fun going through the questions and answers. The results are,…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
The Science News Statistical Article: Odds Are, It’s Wrong
Many (thank you everybody!) people sent me the "Odds Are, It's Wrong" article by Tom Siegfried and have asked me to comment. Below are the key points; I will assume…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
A Most Depressing Day
I had planned on discussing the Tom Siegfried Science News "Odds Are, It's Wrong" article on how bad classical statistics is that many readers sent in. But---and I'm sorry to…
Posted inPhilosophy
Are All Governments Destined For Failure?
Here's an experiment you can try at home. Gather a set of children's building blocks and form them into a square, flat on the floor. The square can be of…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
Do only the less intelligent write papers about theists being less intelligent?
There are some new statistical papers floating around that conclude that the more intelligent among us tend to be atheists. An equivalent, but more enjoyable, way of stating this is…