Re: Opinions as Evidence

Lee Daniel Crocker (lcrocker@calweb.com)
Wed, 26 Mar 1997 11:27:38 -0800 (PST)


> You will not accept the reasonableness of Bayesian inference for the
> purpose of a discussion on another topic, unless someone here will
> summarize for you the vast literature on the normative arguments for
> Bayesian inference, and solve the problem in induction to your
> satisfaction in the process? Come now, your behavior here seems a
> good example of the error of refusing to give any weight to the
> opinions of others, unless they present to you, at your convenience
> and in a form you can quickly understand, all the evidence behind
> their opinions.

I /do/ accept that such inference is "reasonable" in many circumstances,
and that opinions of others can be valuable. I simply refuse to evade
or deny those cases where they fail miserably, and therefore cannot
elevate such methods to a general principle. They are good tricks,
and I use them where appropriate, but I judge where they are appropriate
by other means. And I am familiar with some of the literature here, so
I don't expect you to cite every book. I'm just trying to get you to
see beyond the books--to see for yourself that it is /necessary/ to go
beyond the opinions of others.

-- 
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com>  <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC