Search results for "Inference"
showing 10 items of 478 documents
Logics and operators
2003
Two connectives are of special interest in metalogical investigations — the connective of implication which is important due to its connections to the notion of inference, and the connective of equivalence. The latter connective expresses, in the material sense, the fact that two sentences have the same logical value while in the strict sense it expresses the fact that two sentences are interderivable on the basis of a given logic. The process of identification of equivalent sentences relative to theories of a logic C defines a class of abstract algebras. The members of the class are called Lindenbaum-Tarski algebras of the logic C. One may abstract from the origin of these algebras and exa…
A Challenge to Boghossian's Incompatibilist Argument
1998
The paradox arises as we realize that (3) is clearly not knowable a priori, but (1) and (2) are. (2) holds 'a priori' because, according to Boghossian, it "just is the view that I have called the doctrine of privileged self-knowledge" (p. 202). The core of the paper is devoted, though, to argue that an externalist (i.e., someone who holds the view that "... facts external to a thinker's skin are relevant to the individuation of (certain of) his mental contents" (p. 199). is bound to concede that (1) is knowable 'a priori'. It would follow that, contrary to intuition, (3) can be known a priori since is the conclusion of an inference that relies on two premises that are, in
An Explication of the Use of Inference to the Best Explanation
2011
The aim of the present paper is, first, to give an explication of the very phrase “best explanation”, and second, to give some suggestions about its methodological use. The explication on offer will be given in terms of two set-theoretical criteria of comparing the relative explanatory power of alternatives. One criterion is designed to compare rival hypotheses put forward in the framework of a fixed background knowledge, the other is designed to compare an original background knowledge with its attempted revision. The proposal will be claimed to resolve the problems of Duhemian variety as well as the incommensurability problem.
Exploring gravitational-wave detection and parameter inference using deep learning methods
2020
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at the following URL/DOI: https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.10425.
Was there an early reionization component in our universe?
2017
A deep understanding of the Epoch of Reionization is still missing in our knowledge of the universe. While future probes will allow us to test the precise evolution of the free electron fraction from redshifts between $z\simeq 6$ and $z\simeq 20$, at present one could ask what kind of reionization processes are allowed by present Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarization measurements. An early contribution to reionization could imply a departure from the standard picture where star formation determines the reionization onset. BBy considering a broad class of possible reionization parameterizations, we find that current data do not require an early reionization component in ou…
Likelihood approach to the first dark matter results from XENON100
2011
Many experiments that aim at the direct detection of Dark Matter are able to distinguish a dominant background from the expected feeble signals, based on some measured discrimination parameter. We develop a statistical model for such experiments using the Profile Likelihood ratio as a test statistic in a frequentist approach. We take data from calibrations as control measurements for signal and background, and the method allows the inclusion of data from Monte Carlo simulations. Systematic detector uncertainties, such as uncertainties in the energy scale, as well as astrophysical uncertainties, are included in the model. The statistical model can be used to either set an exclusion limit or …
The Wage Curve, Once More with Feeling: Bayesian Model Averaging of Heckit Models
2018
The sensitivity of the wage curve to sample-selection and model uncertainty was evaluated with Bayesian methods. More than 8000 Heckit wage curves were estimated using data from the 2017 household survey of Bolivia. After averaging the estimates with the posterior probability of each model being true, the wage curve elasticity in Bolivia is close to -0.01. This result suggests that in this country the wage curve is inelastic and does not follow the international statistical regularity of wage curves.
The third planet
1992
This paper examines the conceptions of planetary phenomena related to temperature change as held by primary school teacher trainees at the Department of Teacher Education of Jyvaskyla University. The data were collected by means of an essay test, supplemented by interviews. The results show that very few students have internalized these phenomena in accordance with present‐day scientific concepts. The significance of the Earth's sphericity seems particularly obscure. The influence of the angle of inclination of the Earth's axis is misunderstood. Similarly, temperature differences are erroneously attributed to the distance from the sun of the Earth or of a particular place. The students do n…
Disentangling temporal patterns in our perception of the fossil history of gymnosperms
2012
By taking gymnosperms as a case study, this article evaluates the perception of plant life history from the fossil record to test the biases associated with the time-dependent aspects of the taxonomy, following a stepwise modelling procedure based on two divergent sets of time units. The idea that the effects of the temporal component of paleobiological inference need to be evaluated to remove any possible bias in our interpretation and perception of plant evolution based on analyses of large-scale data sets is investigated. The results reveal important differences in our perception of the tempo of gymnosperm evolution and how it is biased in terms of time unit length due to the loss of inf…
Ancient Theories of Reasoning
2013
In this section, the central question is whether we can find ancient discussions concerning what happens in the mind when a conclusion is drawn. Did ancient authors suppose that there is a psychological force that compels us to accept the conclusion when the premises are accepted and the inference is valid? Or, if the inference is not deductively valid but adds to the credibility of the conclusion in another way, e.g., by being inductive, what happens in the mind when such an inference is drawn? In general, psychology of reasoning was not a vital topic in antiquity. Reasoning was typically considered from a logical, not from a psychological point of view. For example, in Stoic sources the n…