CriticalThinkingAcademy

Table of Contents Evidential Naïveté Masquerading as Rigor Bastardizing Objectivity Confusing "An Explanation" with "Best Explanation" The Nature of Neutrality Its not quite Pseudo-Intellectualism Generalizing the Concept Applying this to Risk Assessment Final Thoughts References I was rewatching clone wars, specifically s5 ep19; the episode where Ahsoka is accused of bombing the Jedi temple. While watching this sequence, something really struck me. When it’s informed to the Jedi council that Ahsoka allegedly killed clones and is on the run, some jedi masters respond with “I can’t believe she has fallen so far?”. Grand admiral Tarkin responds by saying “it’s not our place to operate on beliefs, we deal in facts and evidence and the evidence points to Ahsoka”. I find this fascinating because it reminds me of Schums “Evidential Foundations of Probabilistic Reasoning”, and other scholars concerned with evidence...

Core Concepts in Empirical Economics and Causal Inference, Part 3 Core Concepts in Empirical Economics and Causal Inference, Part 3 Table of Contents 13. Panel Data, Cross-Sectional Data, and Longitudinal Research Design 14. Fixed Effects and Random Effects 15. Internal Validity, External Validity, and the Broader Validity Framework 16. Heterogeneous Treatment Effects 17. Effect Size, Economic Significance, and Uncertainty 18. Type 1 and Type 2 Errors, Power, Multiple Testing, and Bayesian Evidence 19. Cost-Benefit Analysis and Policy Evaluation Introduction to Part 3 This document continues the empirical concepts series. Part 1 introduced the foundations of causal inference: correlation versus causation, counterfactual reasoning, causal graphs, exogeneity, omitted variable bias, and selection bias. Part 2 developed the major design-based tools used to estimate causal effects, including randomized controlled trials, natural experiments, identification strategie...