AndrewKemendo comments on Scaling Evidence and Faith - Less Wrong

-3 [deleted] 27 December 2009 12:30PM

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Comment author: JRMayne 27 December 2009 05:17:02PM 9 points [-]

Perhaps I misunderstand, but I think what you're calling "faith," is simply confidence level. Renaming it "faith," I think, is going to muddle the terminology more than it assists the ability to argue the point.

Let's take your view of evolution: You're saying you accept it based 1% on faith. I would say that I am 99% confident of it (assuming your view), which has the advantage that doubts that enter into the analysis would reduce my confidence level, but not increase my faith level, which would remain at zero.

Nor do I believe that this renaming helps us meet the divergent views between the faithful and the evidence-based. To give credence to faith as a necessary filler of doubt doesn't help move people toward evidence, in my view. Further, it is exactly the sort of logic the faithful cite - science is just faith in something else.

Comment author: AndrewKemendo 28 December 2009 06:59:43AM 2 points [-]

confidence level.

Most people do not understand what a confidence interval or confidence levels are. At least in my interactions. Unless you have had some sort of statistics (even basic) you probably haven't heard of it.

Comment author: MrHen 29 December 2009 04:30:03PM 2 points [-]

I would agree, but I think that teaching them a new term is easier than changing their conception of the term "faith."

Comment author: orthonormal 30 December 2009 02:55:06AM 0 points [-]

Well put. That's essentially why I downvoted the post.