Different courts and legal systems use diverse phrases about evidentiary standards of proof1. Few to none are precise in the sense that they offer a fixed probability number for this proof. For […]
Jeffrey Sachs Saves The World
The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity by Jeffrey Sachs Says Jeffrey Sachs, economics professor at Columbia, “Economic theory indeed supports the view that high tax rates can actually […]
Robert Heinlein And Evolving Probabilities
Writer Stephen Dawson, a long-time participant at this blog, wrote and asked the following: In his The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein had his intelligent computer calculate the odds of […]
Are Humans As Violent As In The Good Old Days?
If we had records of massacres as we have meteorological records, don’t you think we might discover their internal laws, after several centuries of observation? — Joseph de Maistre. There hasn’t been […]
The EPA, Dust, And The Ecological Fallacy
In last night’s Republican debate, the candidates were asked if they could eliminate just one federal agency, which one would it be? Herman Cain chose the EPA: The first — the first […]
It’s No Coincidence: Rarity Is Subjective
I have in my hand—you’ll have to trust me—a certain blade of grass. He is my favorite. The titling curvature of his blade can only be described as rakish, although other tasteful […]
What Is Science? Part I
Science says this, science says that. There is no more loquacious entity these days than science. What is it? Climatologists talk of the science. Physicists compliment by saying a fellow does good […]
Occam’s Razor And Induction
Occam’s razor: The simplest hypothesis is usually the best. Simplest is easy to understand, and non-controversial, or relatively so. Consternation creeps in with usually. Before that, first understand what is an induction. […]
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