Andrew Gelman & Megan Higgs | Statistics’ Role in Science and Pseudoscience

2021-04-30

Andrew Gelman & Megan Higgs | Statistics' Role in Science and Pseudoscience #datascience #statistics #science #pseudoscience Our science vs pseudoscience discussion continues with Andrew Gelman (Columbia) and Megan Higgs (Critical Inference LLC). Andrew and Megan describe two critical roles that statistics plays in science.... but also how statistics can add the air of scientific rigor to bad research or help statisticians fool themselves. From there the conversation goes on in a way that only a conversation w...

Andrew Gelman & Megan Higgs | Statistics' Role in Science and Pseudoscience

#datascience #statistics #science #pseudoscience

Our science vs pseudoscience discussion continues with Andrew Gelman (Columbia) and Megan Higgs (Critical Inference LLC). Andrew and Megan describe two critical roles that statistics plays in science.... but also how statistics can add the air of scientific rigor to bad research or help statisticians fool themselves. From there the conversation goes on in a way that only a conversation with Andrew and Megan can! A very fun episode.

0:00 - Two roles of statistics in science
4:50 - Many models were intended for designed experiments
10:30 - The biggest scientific error of the past 20 years
15:00 - Feedback loop of over-confidence / Armstrong Principle
21:00 - Science is personal
25:00 - The value of different approaches / Don Rubin Story
34:40 - Statistics is the science of defaults / engineering new methods
45:00 - The value of writing what you did
52:27 - Math vs science backgrounds + a thought experiment
1:01:20 - Fooling ourselves

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