inference to the best explanation - Deepstash

inference to the best explanation

Given that all else is equal, one should choose the hypothesis that best explains the evidence. One form of this can be justified by a comparative use of Bayes’s theorem. It is closely related to Ockham’s razor.

6

4 reads

The idea is part of this collection:

Centers of Progress

Learn more about philosophy with this collection

The historical significance of urban centers

The impact of cultural and technological advances

The role of urban centers in shaping society

Related collections

Similar ideas to inference to the best explanation

How to avoid cherry picking

  • Ask yourself: “Is there any additional evidence or possible interpretations of existing evidence that I should be considering?
  • Avoid forming a hypothesis too early on, before you’ve had a chance to look at all the available information.

The Sagan Standard

The Sagan Standard

The Sagan standard is related to astronomer Carl Sagan, who stated that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” (a dictum abbreviated as ECREE).

This means that the more unlikely a certain claim is, given existing evidence on the matter, the greater the stan...

Key Concepts in Statistics

We often feel anecdotes from people we know more persuasive than scientific evidence. This is because we don’t understand statistics well.

3 key concepts we must always remember:

  1. Law of Large Number (more data in a sample, more accurate conclusion)

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates