Confirmation Bias?
Allan Bevere writes about the way we tend to see much more corruption in the opposing party than in our own.
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Libby Found Guilty
ByhenryOf course, if I reversed the numbers, I could say, “found not guilty.” He was found guilty of 4 of 5 counts, according to the Washington Post. I would hate to second-guess the jury, even though I have grave doubts on the average IQ of a jury that could survive voir dire under the circumstances….
Importance of Correct Procedure
ByhenryOn both sides of the political spectrum, and even in the middle, we tend to elevate particular policies over the procedures. I think it is very dangerous to do so. This type of thing has occurred in abortion (use of RICO, free speech issues), various federalism issues, and quite commonly in church-state issues. Ed (Dispatches)…
Numbers and Context
ByhenryThis is way out of my field, but I want to link to it because it illustrates the way in which numbers can be used deceptively. I still heartily recommend the book How to Lie with Statistics from which the title is derived. I’m no economist, but I remember a fine discussion in a class…
Thinking about Business Regulation
ByhenryThe current financial crisis has been cast as a failure of the left by the right, and failure of the right by the left. Did laissez faire capitalism fail or was it excessive taxation or regulation? Perhaps it was a combination. I use “left” and “right” here strictly in the context of capitalism, with “right”…
Of Rules and Fairness
ByhenryWhen I was in my early teens I remember playing a game (I can’t remember what) with a younger cousin. I was old enough that my idea of fairness was that you followed the rules and that was fair. It didn’t matter how many wins each person had. My younger cousin, after losing a few…
Criminal Blogging
ByhenryAn Egyptian court has charged a blogger for criticizing his university and the government, and now have sentenced him to four years in prison. And these guys are supposed to be our moderate friends. Even I can’t stretch the definition of “moderate” far enough to cover a government that will commit such an outrage. Hat…