A life in words
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Priority
In Bayesian statistics [based on those opening words I know I’ve already lost 50% of you] there is a concept of a priori and a posteriori beliefs. A prior probability distribution (also simply called a prior) indicates that prior to making an observation I already have some beliefs about the nature of the system being…
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So Open It’s Closed
There is a point at which an open mind becomes so open that it closes in on itself. At least, that’s what I think. At some point, the willingness to consider any and every thought as at least initially equivalent can wash out any willingness to evaluate the accuracy of those viewpoints. At that point,…
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Choice and Belief: A Deliberately Credulous Introduction
It’s been a little while since posting, and there’s a reason: I’ve been sitting on a stool somewhere in a smoke-filled room (Note: It wasn’t tobacco smoke—somebody just burned something in the oven, of course!) slaving away over a series of new articles on the topic of Choice and Belief. If after reading through all…