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instrumentalism is “the view that theories are merely instruments for predicting observable phenomena or systematizing observation reports.”

In a nutshell, the way I have understood it, given a specific set of data, the frequentist believes that there is a true, underlying distribution from which said data was generated. The inability to get the exact parameters is a function of finite sample size. The Bayesian, on the other hand, think that we start with some assumption about the param... See more

In this respect, Bayesian inference is more intuitive at its core and in closer alignment with our natural mode of probabilistic reasoning than frequentist inference. For example, we are more interested in the probability that 1 treatment is superior to another (Bayesian probability) than in the probability of obtaining certain data assuming the tr... See more

This probability of obtaining another data set as extreme as the one collected is known as the P value. The P value is often criticized for being misunderstood and misused in the field of medicine.2,3 For example, in contrast to popular belief, the P value is not a measure of how correct a hypothesis is, nor is it a measure of the size or importanc... See more

Frequentist inference begins by assuming a null hypothesis to be true before data are collected (eg, that there is no effect of a particular treatment on survival). Investigators then collect data, analyze them, and ask, “How surprising is my result if there is actually no effect of the treatment on survival?” The data would be surprising if there ... See more

This designation is based on the direction the compound rotates polarized light that's shined upon it. If it rotates the light clockwise, it's dextrorotatory, and it's referred to as right-handed. Counterclockwise = levorotatory = left handed. It's important in biochem, not only because biological systems tend to differentiate between the two, but ... See more

In a free society, at one or another point in your life, you’ll actually have to form your own opinion about something. You’ll do better at that if you have some practice forming opinions. When experts have strong opinions on something, this is a good opportunity to practice your opinion-forming skills, see whether you get the same result as the ex... See more

It’s important to note that the concept of a field cannot be broken down into something which has a material or mechanical analogy. Sometimes, physicists think of a field as the aggregate effect of exchange or virtual particles which are governed by a quantum field theory, or the effect of the curvature of space time, but it’s important to note tha... See more