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RMS TITANIC DOES NOT ANSWER
April 8, 2011 10:00pm

 

Ask Dr Hal
RMS TITANIC DOES NOT ANSWER
OUR ALGORITHM RESPECTS the Indeterminacy Principle. But again, this indeterminacy also means that there are near-infinite bad algorithms, too. The problem of indeterminacy arises when one observes the eventual circularity of virtually every possible definition. It is easy to find loops of definition in any dictionary, because this seems to be the only way that certain concepts, and generally very important ones such as that of existence, can be defined in the English language. A definition is a collection of other words, and in any finite dictionary if one continues to follow the trail of words in search of the precise meaning of any given term, one will inevitably encounter this linguistic indeterminacy. The phenomenon is especially pronounced during long and improvised radio shows or podcasts. Philosophers and scientists generally try to eliminate indeterminate terms from their arguments, since any indeterminate thing is unquantifiable and untestable; similarly, any hypothesis which consists of a statement of the properties of something unquantifiable or indefinable cannot be falsified and thus cannot be said to be supported by evidence that does not falsify it. This is related to Karl Popper's discussions of falsifiability in his works on the Scientific Method. The quantifiability of data collected during an experiment is central to the method, since reliable conclusions can only be drawn from replicable experiments, and since in order to establish observer agreement scientists must be able to quantify experimental evidence. Irreproducible Results-- that's us.


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