Category Archives: Science

WHY DOES THE FDA REFUSE TO USE MULTIPLE REGRESSION?

WHY DOES THE FDA REFUSE TO USE MULTIPLE REGRESSION? Patti Waldmeir has an article in the Financial Times (March 7 on internet. March 8 in the American printing) with the snappy headline, “Why the FDA must do a deal with … Continue reading

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WHY SO MUCH MEDICAL RESEARCH IS ROT.

WHY SO MUCH MEDICAL RESEARCH IS ROT. The title of this article could be generalized to read WHY SO MUCH STATISTICAL RESEARCH IS ROT rather than WHY SO MUCH MEDICAL RESEARCH IS ROT. Kids, I know you are surprised that … Continue reading

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MENTAL ILLNESS OR PHYSICAL ILLNESS?

MENTAL ILLNESS OR PHYSICAL ILLNESS? This essay elegantly summarizes how the idea of mental illness has changed through the last fifty years. Reading it, I kept reflecting how much of the intellectual history and the literature of that period was … Continue reading

Posted in History, Literature, Science | 1 Comment

A BIG STEP FORWARD IN USING THE WISDOM OF CROWDS.

A BIG STEP FORWARD IN USING THE WISDOM OF CROWDS. This article by Daniel Engber describes how probabilities are being used to convey information in a new report on an important policy issue. A previous report had used words such … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Politics, Science | 1 Comment

PEOPLE ARE ALREADY USED TO PROBABILITIES.

PEOPLE ARE ALREADY USED TO PROBABILITIES. I once had the good fortune to hear James Surowiecki speak about his book, THE WISDOM OF CROWDS. I asked him whether he thought it was possible that probabilistic statements could be used in … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Politics, Science | 5 Comments

USING THE WISDOM OF CROWDS.

USING THE WISDOM OF CROWDS. I am a big fan of James Surowiecki’s book, THE WISDOM OF CROWDS. This is the book that used the examples of estimating the weight of a watermelon at a county fair or guessing the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Politics, Science | 6 Comments

COLORS.

COLORS. This article begins with the fact that Welsh is one of a group of languages which does not distinguish between blue and green (called “grue” languages because they conflate blue and green). Is color perception a result of nature … Continue reading

Posted in art, Science | 4 Comments

THE STARS AFFECT US IN THEIR BIRTHS

THE STARS AFFECT US IN THEIR BIRTHS. I began this blog with a remarkable article which pointed out that the radiation from the Big Bang still affects our radio reception. Now this study says that life on Earth has been … Continue reading

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THE BIG BANG

I don’t know how to link yet, but I know a good way to begin this blog. There was an article a month ago in the Wall St. Journal about the Nobel Prize in Physics. Scientists had confirmed the Big … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 13 Comments