

Don't Let Math Pull the Wool Over Your Eyes - johnbender
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323374504578219873933502726.html

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johnbender
This article starts out rather poorly.

"Other research has shown that even those who should be especially clear-
sighted about numbers—scientific researchers ... are often uncomfortable with,
and credulous about, mathematical material."

Followed less than a paragraph later by discussing the results of adding a
spurious mathematical model to an abstract:

"Those with degrees in math, science or technology rated the abstract with the
tacked-on [math] as slightly lower-quality than the other."

I worry that this is just another example of science being poorly interpreted
by media outlets. More importantly I'm not clear why I should be surprised
that busy professors who don't have a close relationship with mathematics
should be expected to evaluate an abstract (NOT a whole paper) less favorably
because it includes a model.

We live in a world where the scientific method is more frequently under
assault from parties who's interest lie in viewing it as mere opinion. This
doesn't help.

