Experiments can fail if they are executed or planned improperly. If both the control and the experimental group are given sugar pills, for example, or the equipment fails in a shower of sparks, the experiment has provided no evidence by which one can update.
I think Ferguson would call those "results," and from those you would have learned about performing experiments, not about the original hypothesis you were interested in.
I think Ferguson would call those "results," and from those you would have learned about performing experiments, not about the original hypothesis you were interested in.
Ferguson's proposed new language is a downgrade. Being unable to identify something as a failure when the outcome sucks is fatalism and not particularly useful.
Another month has passed and here is a new rationality quotes thread. The usual rules are: