Dennis Lindley Quotes

• Uncertainty is a personal matter; it is not the uncertainty but your uncertainty.

  Dennis Lindley

  Matter, Personal Matter, Uncertainty

  "Understanding Uncertainty" by Dennis Lindley, (p. 1), 2006.

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• Whatever way uncertainty is approached, probability is the only sound way to think about it.

  Dennis Lindley

  Thinking, Sound, Way

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 5 "The Rules of Probability", p. 71), 2006.

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• Almost all thinking people agree that you should not have probability 1 (or 0) for any event, other than one demonstrable by logic, like 2 x 2 = 4.

  Dennis Lindley

  Thinking, People, Events

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 6 "Bayes Rule", p. 91), 2006.

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• In my opinion, it helps enormously to know why something is true, rather than being told it is true, for why should you believe me? Never believe anything on the authority of a single person but seek confirmation - and reason is the best confirmation.

  Dennis Lindley

  Believe, Helping, Opinion

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 2 "Stylistic Questions", pp. 24-25), 2006.

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• I believe that almost all important, useful ideas are simple. Peter Whittle has recently put it nicely in an autobiographical essay. "If a piece of work is heavy and complicated then it is wrong." . . . Some writers feel that to express their ideas in simple terms is degrading. Some use complexity to disguise the paucity of their material. In fact, simplicity is a virtue and when, as here, it is both original and useful, it can represent a real advance in knowledge.

  Dennis Lindley

  Real, Work, Believe

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• Consider the case of a person who holds a view with probability 1. Then coherence says that it is no use having a debate with them because nothing will change their mind.

  Dennis Lindley

  Views, Mind, Use

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 6 "Bayes Rule", p. 91), 2006.

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• It is dangerous to attach probability zero to anything other than a logical impossibility.

  Dennis Lindley

  Zero, Logical, Dangerous

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 5 "The Rules of Probability", p. 64), 2006.

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• Utility is the emotion pleading to be let into the house of pure reason and thereby enriching it.

  Dennis Lindley

  House, Emotion, Reason

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 2 "Stylistic Questions", p. 20), 2006.

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• The grand assertion is that you must see the world through probability and that probability is the only guide you need.

  Dennis Lindley

  Needs, World, Guides

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 5 "The Rules of Probability", p. 66), 2006.

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• It is not surprising that in talking about uncertainty we should lean heavily on facts, just as the court of law does when interrogating witnesses. Facts form a sort of bedrock on which we can build the shifting sands of uncertainty.

  Dennis Lindley

  Talking, Law, Doe

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 2 "Stylistic Questions", p. 19), 2006.

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• Generally there is Stigler's law of eponymy that says that a scientific notion is never attributed to the right person; in particular, the law is not due to Stigler.

  Dennis Lindley

  Law, Notion, Persons

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Prologue, p. 15), 2006.

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• In teaching there can be too much emphasis on certainty and a proper appreciation of uncertainty is to be encouraged.

  Dennis Lindley

  Appreciation, Teaching, Too Much

  "Understanding Uncertainty". Book by Dennis Lindley (Chapter 6 "Bayes Rule", p. 81), 2006.

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