Another note for many people to realize is that statistics at best can only disprove causation (which it almost always does). Statistics isn't a tool that can actually prove anything.
This is a point that doesn't often get discussed. A tenet of the scientific method is that things cannot be proven to be true. They can only be disproven, which allows you to go back and refine your hypothesis and test it again. If you test and test and never disprove, you get closer to "proving" but never reach it. It's asymptotic!
As I understand it ... Even something like gravity cannot be proven to actually exist, according to the scientific method. Gravity (attraction) is a working hypothesis that has been tested and tested and never adequately disproven ... in which case it moves into the field of theory or law.
2 comments:
nice cartoon.
Another note for many people to realize is that statistics at best can only disprove causation (which it almost always does). Statistics isn't a tool that can actually prove anything.
This is a point that doesn't often get discussed. A tenet of the scientific method is that things cannot be proven to be true. They can only be disproven, which allows you to go back and refine your hypothesis and test it again. If you test and test and never disprove, you get closer to "proving" but never reach it. It's asymptotic!
As I understand it ... Even something like gravity cannot be proven to actually exist, according to the scientific method. Gravity (attraction) is a working hypothesis that has been tested and tested and never adequately disproven ... in which case it moves into the field of theory or law.
Post a Comment