Abstract
The principal goal of science, stated in practical terms, is the mobilization of evidence in support of claims about the world. Evidence are data related to a claim. If there are no claims there can be no evidence; hence, without claims science cannot exist. In this essay, we illustrate and illuminate this syllogism with examples chosen from among the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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Notes
A cost function specifies a penalty for an incorrect estimate from a statistical model. Typical cost functions might specify the penalty as a function of the difference between the estimate and the true value or simply as a binary value depending on whether the estimate is accurate within a certain range. For more on this topic, see DeGroot (2004), Raiffa (1997), Morgenstern (1976), and of course, the classic that began it all, von Neumann and Morgenstern (1944).
What actually was said in Watson and Crick’s (1953) famous Nature article announcing their discovery of the structure of DNA was, “It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.”
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Wainer, H., Clauser, B. Reflections on a Too Extreme Idea. Educ Psychol Rev 25, 325–330 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9231-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9231-5