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A Not-So-Fundamental Limitation on Studying Complex Systems with Statistics: Comment on Rabin (2011)

Although living organisms are affected by many interrelated and unidentified variables, this complexity does not automatically impose a fundamental limitation on statistical inference. Nor need one invoke such complexity as an explanation of the “Truth Wears Off” or “decline” effect; similar “declin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of statistical physics 2012-12, Vol.149 (6), p.1168-1171
Main Author: Thomas, Drew M.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Although living organisms are affected by many interrelated and unidentified variables, this complexity does not automatically impose a fundamental limitation on statistical inference. Nor need one invoke such complexity as an explanation of the “Truth Wears Off” or “decline” effect; similar “decline” effects occur with far simpler systems studied in physics. Selective reporting and publication bias, and scientists’ biases in favor of reporting eye-catching results (in general) or conforming to others’ results (in physics) better explain this feature of the “Truth Wears Off” effect than Rabin’s suggested limitation on statistical inference.
ISSN:0022-4715
1572-9613
DOI:10.1007/s10955-012-0647-y