Readers Respond on "Grassoline" Nov 14, 2009
In scientific terms, Shermer is correct; the null hypothesis is no argument. In religious terms, faith is everything. (Scientific American)
What Skepticism Reveals about Science Jul 2, 2009
Science begins with the null hypothesis, which assumes that the claim under investigation is not true until demonstrated otherwise. The statistical standards of evidence needed to reject the null hypothesis are substantial ... Failure to reject the null hypothesis does not make the claim false, and, conversely, rejecting the null hypothesis is not a warranty on truth. (Scientific American)
On animal testing, the news, New Orleans, northern Cyprus, Israel, boss-napping, Thatcherism, Tom Joad, MPs' expenses Jun 5, 2009
The hypotheses being tested are the null hypothesis, where there is no difference between the responses of individuals exposed to either the treatment or control, and the alternative hypothesis, where a difference occurs. But if the null hypothesis is supported, one cannot conclude that the treatment itself is responsible for the lack of a significant effect. (The Economist)
Kostroun earns Grand Prize at State Science Fair Apr 11, 2009
According to Kostroun s research paper, his null hypothesis was that a plant community s diversity, abundance and species richness would have no effect on the arthropod community The final results showed just the opposite, though. His project, which was three years in the making, found that there was no correlation to arthropod (insect) diversity, but there was in abundance. (Cameron Herald, TX)
Hook-ups in the wild: Do animals enjoy sex? Mar 26, 2009
"My null hypothesis is that they do," he said, adding a challenge: "Prove that they don't.". 2009 LiveScience. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Black holes: Einstein could have been wrong Feb 10, 2009
The observation of such phenomena made him and his research team reach a point where they needed to formulate a null hypothesis in order to demonstrate that "if general relativity applied, then the compact object must be a black hole," and if it is not a black hole, then the theory of relativity doesn't apply. The whole lecture, by demonstrating the discovery he made, showed all the assumptions they made in order to conclude that a "dynamically confirmed black hole candidate" exists. (University News, MO)
Skiing is 'doomed' so enjoy it while it lasts Feb 10, 2009
The latter phrase seems to be most prevalent in the sandals and beards brigade rather than starting off with a null hypothesis that says "no man-made global warming". rather it's become a religion with beliefs taking precedence over actual scientific measurement. (Scotsman)
Carbon emission good for planet Feb 8, 2009
However they have yet been able to reject the null hypothesis that androgenic activity is not causing climate change. " vapormate wrote on Feb 7, 2009 10:56 AM:" My father always told me never to use the word "rubbish" in the course of debate but, I must say that this piece of writing is one of the most ill-informed that I have read in some time. (Logan Herald Journal, UT)
