Professor Larry Wasserman
I had invited Larry to give an update, and I’m delighted that he has! The discussion relates to the last post (by Spanos), which follows upon my deconstruction of Wasserman*. So, for your Saturday night reading pleasure, join me** in reviewing this and the past two blogs and the links within.
“Wasserman on Wasserman: Update! December 28, 2013”
My opinions have shifted a bit.
My reference to Franken’s joke suggested that the usual philosophical debates about the foundations of statistics were un-important, much like the debate about media bias. I was wrong on both counts.
First, I now think Franken was wrong. CNN and network news have a strong liberal bias, especially on economic issues. FOX has an obvious right wing, and anti-atheist bias. (At least FOX has some libertarians on the payroll.) And this does matter. Because people believe what they see on TV and what they read in the NY times. Paul Krugman’s socialist bullshit parading as economics has brainwashed millions of Americans. So media bias is much more than who makes better hummus.
Similarly, the Bayes-Frequentist debate still matters. And people — including many statisticians — are still confused about the distinction. I thought the basic Bayes-Frequentist debate was behind us. A year and a half of blogging (as well as reading other blogs) convinced me I was wrong here too. And this still does matter. Continue reading
