2018 will mark 60 years since the famous chestnut from Sir David Cox (1958). The example “is now usually called the ‘weighing machine example,’ which draws attention to the need for conditioning, at least in certain types of problems” (Reid 1992, p. 582). When I describe it, you’ll find it hard to believe many regard it as causing an earthquake in statistical foundations, unless you’re already steeped in these matters. A simple version: If half the time I reported my weight from a scale that’s always right, and half the time use a scale that gets it right with probability .5, would you say I’m right with probability ¾? Well, maybe. But suppose you knew that this measurement was made with the scale that’s right with probability .5? The overall error probability is scarcely relevant for giving the warrant of the particular measurement, knowing which scale was used. So what’s the earthquake? First a bit more on the chestnut. Here’s an excerpt from Cox and Mayo (2010, 295-8): Continue reading
All She Wrote (so far): Error Statistics Philosophy: 6 years on
Error Statistics Philosophy: Blog Contents (6 years) [i]
By: D. G. Mayo
Dear Reader: It’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging for six years (since Sept. 3, 2011)! A big celebration is taking place at the Elbar Room this evening. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for some Elba Grease.
Amazingly, this old typewriter not only still works; one of the whiz kids on Elba managed to bluetooth it to go directly from my typewriter onto the blog (I never got used to computer keyboards.) I still must travel to London to get replacement ribbons for this klunker.
Please peruse the offerings below, and take advantage of some of the super contributions and discussions by guest posters and readers! I don’t know how much longer I’ll continue blogging–I’ve had to cut back this past year (sorry)–but at least until the publication of my book “Statistical Inference as Severe Testing: How to Get Beyond the Statistics Wars” (CUP, 2018). After that I plan to run conferences, workshops, and ashrams on PhilStat and PhilSci, and I will invite readers to take part! Keep reading and commenting. Sincerely, D. Mayo
September 2011
- (9/3) Frequentists in Exile: The Purpose of this Blog
- (9/3) Overheard at the comedy hour at the Bayesian retreat
- (9/4) Drilling Rule #1
- (9/9) Kuru
- (9/13) In Exile, Clinging to Old Ideas?
- (9/15) SF conferences & E. Lehmann
- (9/16) Getting It Right But for the Wrong Reason
- (9/20) A Highly Anomalous Event
- (9/23) LUCKY 13 (Critcisms)
- (9/26) Whipping Boys and Witch Hunters
- (9/29) Part 1: Imaginary scientist at an imaginary company, Prionvac, and an imaginary reformer
October 2011 Continue reading


























