Comments on: The Class of ‘03 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:52:26 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Watson Aname http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/comment-page-1/#comment-221133 Watson Aname Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:42:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/#comment-221133 yabonn --- quite. <i>... contradiction ... It is for example a contradiction ... contradiction ... contradiction </i> You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think that it means. yabonn—- quite.

… contradiction … It is for example a contradiction … contradiction … contradiction

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think that it means.

]]> By: yabonn http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/comment-page-1/#comment-221111 yabonn Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:09:42 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/#comment-221111 From the link : <i>But even lower mathematics teems with contradictions. It is for example a contradiction that a root of A should be a power of A, and yet A^{.5} = \sqrt{A}</i> ... Gni ? From the link :
But even lower mathematics teems with contradictions. It is for example a contradiction that a root of A should be a power of A, and yet A^{.5} = sqrt{A}

… Gni ?

]]> By: kid bitzer http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/comment-page-1/#comment-221110 kid bitzer Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:53:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/#comment-221110 yeah, larger and larger samples over the wrong population certainly do not guarantee quality. ("there are ten million heart attacks every year. some of them have to feel pleasant".) but presumably the relevant population in the blogging case is something like "literate computer users", or more broadly "fellow human beings", and that's a fair population in which to look for the talent and ability to write good blogs. if you figure this talent is distributed in something like a normal way, then i would think that the numerical argument becomes sensible again. unlike pleasurable heart attacks, people with a talent for blogging really are out there. keep taking larger and larger samples, and you'll find them eventually. yeah, larger and larger samples over the wrong population certainly do not guarantee quality. (“there are ten million heart attacks every year. some of them have to feel pleasant”.)

but presumably the relevant population in the blogging case is something like “literate computer users”, or more broadly “fellow human beings”, and that’s a fair population in which to look for the talent and ability to write good blogs.

if you figure this talent is distributed in something like a normal way, then i would think that the numerical argument becomes sensible again. unlike pleasurable heart attacks, people with a talent for blogging really are out there. keep taking larger and larger samples, and you’ll find them eventually.

]]> By: plebian http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/comment-page-1/#comment-221103 plebian Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:22:05 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/12/10/the-class-of-03/#comment-221103 I would have thought that, statistically, the more of something created by humans that exists, the higher the chance that some of it will be created by someone with talent. In other words, I'd have expected the statement to be fairly certain, unless you are inclined to quibble with the value judgements embedded in the whole exercise... I would have thought that, statistically, the more of something created by humans that exists, the higher the chance that some of it will be created by someone with talent. In other words, I’d have expected the statement to be fairly certain, unless you are inclined to quibble with the value judgements embedded in the whole exercise…

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