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From: jaspert@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Jasper Taylor)
Subject: Re: FIRST order? (intractability)
In-Reply-To: David Longley's message of Sun, 16 Jul 95 02:40:34 GMT
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References: <3u5u6m$llk@ixnews5.ix.netcom.com> <805752896snz@longley.demon.co.uk>
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Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 10:40:59 GMT
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In article <805862434snz@longley.demon.co.uk> David Longley <David@longley.demon.co.uk> writes:

[...]

> A SYSTEM SPECIFICATION FOR PROFILING BEHAVIOUR
> _______________________________________________ PROBE

> AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _______________________________________________
> D Longley, Principal Psychologist, October 1994

[...]

> scientists must invest more time in their production.  This leads
> naturally on to a consideration of the appropriate technology to
> support the actuarial stance, and to a critical evaluation of
> current practices adopted by psychologists in their design and
> evaluation methods (largely attempts at simple factorial designs
> which test that differences between groups are unlikely to be
> explained on the basis of chance alone). The case is presented that
> this is possibly one of the worst things that ever happened in
> psychology, and that all too few psychologists (less than one in 20)
> appreciate the weakness of such an approach.

[...]

I tried to read this summary, but it soon becomes obvious that it's
impossibly badly written. I don't think I've detracted anything from
the above extract (about halfway through Volume 1) by quoting it on
its own, but it appears to say that "one of the worst things..." is
"the critical evaluation of current practices...". 

Since the author is proposing such a radical shift in the accepted
methods of psychology, the least he should do is express himself
clearly.
--
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