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Category Archives: Bayesian Reasoning
The Paradox of the Preface
Kenny Easwaran, a philosopher at Texas A&M, recently published in the journal Nous this beautiful paper on Bayesian probabilities (hat tip: Brian Leiter). Among other things, Easwaran’s paper contains the best and most succinct explanation of the “paradox of the … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Bayesian Reasoning, Paradoxes, Philosophy, Truth
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Thinking like a machine (part 2 of 3)
In our previous post, we mentioned John Danaher’s excellent review of Brett Frischmann’s 2014 paper exploring the possibility of a Reverse Turing Test. One of the insightful contributions Frischmann makes to this voluminous literature is his idea of a Turing … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Philosophy, Science
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Reverse Turing Tests and Ethical Machines (part 1 of 3)
Our colleague John Danaher recently pondered the possibility of a “Reverse Turing Test” in this intriguing blog post dated 21 July 2016. That is, instead of testing for a machine’s ability to think like a human, what if we tested for a … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Philosophy, Science, Science Fiction
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Kant vs. Strauss vs. postmodernism
If you had to choose, would you rather read 300 pages on Kantian nonsense, on Straussian esotericism, or on postmodernist garbage? Our colleague Jason Brennan, a philosophy professor at Georgetown University, wrote up this sarcastic taxonomy of the most common … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Bayesian Reasoning, Philosophy
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Africa is larger than China
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Maps, Questions Rarely Asked
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If the burroughs of NYC were separate States, they would get 18 electoral college votes
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Maps, Politics
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#TrumpYourHand
How small are The Donald’s hands? It turns out that Mr Trump’s hands are smaller than average. Now, via the Hollywood Reporter, you can find out how you measure up to Mr Trump. (For your ready reference, here is a … Continue reading
When to use the passive voice
As faculty editor of the UCF Undergraduate Journal, we are constantly on “passive voice search & destroy missions” when we edit manuscripts: hunting for awkward sentences written in the passive voice and converting them into simple and straightforward active voice … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Bayesian Reasoning, Culture, Language
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“Choking and Excelling at the Free Throw Line”
That is the title of this excellent empirical study by Darrell Worthy, Arthur Markman, and Todd Maddox. In case you’re wondering, their data set was comprehensive: it consisted of all free throws attempted during the last minute of all regular-season … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Probability, Sports
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prior probability 