Understanding Polls and Probabilities
Jonathan Last defends Nate Silver, but it’s really just explaining what “probability” means. HT: Dispatches.
Jonathan Last defends Nate Silver, but it’s really just explaining what “probability” means. HT: Dispatches.
From Christian Girl at College, who has been writing an impressive number of great posts. I disagree with this one, but I think we should look and think. See my thoughts on personal gun ownership here.
Anderson cooper is blogging over on CNN getting ready for a program on a case that’s being called “Roe v. Wade for men.” The idea is that a man should have a choice about having a child, and about whether he should have to pay child support. I suppose there’s going to be a long…
Whether it’s about elections or hurricane predictions, neither the media nor the public understand probability. I suspect this is because we are evolutionarily programmed to look for certainty. Certainty leads to decisive action. It is sometimes said in military circles that a bad decision is often better than no decision. But it’s easy to be…
In watching some of the material on Dr. Jeremiah Wright today, I’m reminded of the potential problem of tolerance–getting it above its proper rank as a value. I have been confronted numerous times in face to face discussions with the statement that I cannot be truly tolerant, because to be tolerant, I must tolerate intolerance….
Hmm! I don’t really know what that is! But Robert J. Samuelson has an excellent column on Newsweek (via MSNBC) that discusses the issue. He makes a number of excellent points, including pointing out that we’ve hidden the actual cost of health care, though I suspect not nearly so successfully in this country as in…
I appreciated the contribution of Bob Cornwall, who calls on us to make this a time of building bridges. One of the most disastrous wounds that result from this event is the combination of our fear, anger, hatred, and desire for revenge. I don’t mean to diminish the impact of the evil act of hatred…