Entries by Dale

Posterior Predictive Distributions in Bayesian Statistics

Confessions of a moderate Bayesian, part 4 Bayesian statistics by and for non-statisticians Read part 1: How to Get Started with Bayesian Statistics Read part 2: Frequentist Probability vs Bayesian Probability Read part 3: How Bayesian Inference Works in the Context of Science Predictive distributions A predictive distribution is a distribution that we expect for…

How Bayesian Inference Works in the Context of Science

Confessions of a moderate Bayesian part 3 Read part 1: How to Get Started with Bayesian Statistics Read part 2: Frequentist Probability vs Bayesian Probability Bayesian statistics by and for non-statisticians https://www.cafepress.com/physicsforums.13280237 Background One of the things that I like about Bayesian statistics is that it rather closely matches the way that I think about…

Exploring Frequentist Probability vs Bayesian Probability

Confessions of a moderate Bayesian, part 2 Read Part 1: Confessions of a moderate Bayesian, part 1 Bayesian statistics by and for non-statisticians https://www.cafepress.com/physicsforums.13280237 Background One of the continuous and occasionally contentious debates surrounding Bayesian statistics is the interpretation of probability. For anyone who is familiar with my posts on this forum, I am not…

How to Get Started with Bayesian Statistics

Confessions of a moderate Bayesian, part 1 Bayesian statistics by and for non-statisticians https://www.cafepress.com/physicsforums.13265286 Background I am a statistics enthusiast, although I am not a statistician. My training is in biomedical engineering, and I have been heavily involved in the research and development of novel medical imaging technologies for the bulk of my career. Due…

PF’s policy on Lorentz Ether Theory and Block Universe

What is the PF’s policy on Lorentz Ether Theory and Block Universe? Debates about the superiority or “truth” of modern Lorentz Ether Theory (LET) and the Block Universe (BU) concept are outside the scope of PF because: There is little or no debate among professional physicists about these issues (as opposed to e.g. interpretations of…

Understanding the General Relativity View of Gravity on Earth

Often students have difficulty reconciling the General Relativity (GR) view of gravity versus their own experience with gravity on the surface of Earth. This article covers some of the basic concepts and explains how they work with “everyday” gravity. Important Concepts Spacetime: the combination of 3 dimensions of space and 1 dimension of time into a unified 4D…

What is Energy? A Definition and Controversy

Summary The article addresses the fundamental question, “What is energy?” and explores why discussions about energy can be challenging. It introduces the Newtonian mechanics definition of energy, which defines energy as the capacity of a system to do work and work as a force applied over a distance. The concept of kinetic energy, derived from…