About this site

This is a blog on how we learn about the world. I focus on statistical philosophy, methodology, and philosophy of science, especially where it pertains to the non-experimental sciences. Anyone working with observational data - those producing or reading research from areas in medicine or biology, to economics or psychology, may find something useful.

Learning about the world, especially from observational data, is difficult. Much published work, and reporting on that work, suffers from misunderstandings regarding statistical and causal inference, and how we use those tools to better understand our problems. In the confusion, overconfidence in the authority of science propagates alongside unwarranted skepticism about valuable fields of knowledge.

Real-world consequences follow from the degree to which researchers, policymakers and interested laypeople understand empirical research and the limits of our knowledge. I aim this blog at them.