My Dear Doctor, Like you I believe in a higher power, but, unlike yours, mine is not a kind fatherly one. It is Nature, who with all its forces, beauties and necessary evils, rules our destinies according to its own irrevocable laws. I can love that power for the beauty it has brought into the world, and admire it for the strength that makes us understand how futile and useless it would be to appeal to it in prayer. But towards a kind and fatherly God, who, being almighty, prefers to leave us in misery, when by his mere wish he could obtain the same end without so much suffering, I feel a great revolt and bitterness. Nature makes us know that it cannot take into individual consideration the atoms we are, and for her I have no blame; no more than I could think of blaming you for having during your walks stepped on and killed many a worm (it was a pity the worm happened to be under your foot); but if during these walks your eyes were resting on the beauties of skies and trees, or your mi
What does "validity" mean when used in a proper scientific or statistical fashion? Validity answers a simple question. To what extent does this study or poll actually help us understand what it says it will help us understand? A well-conducted poll, with large sample size and unbiased questions, will be Valid, in that it Adds Knowledge. A small poll, with biased questions, given at after an emotional event has zero validity, it's can't actually inform you of anything. Political polling has been an absolute nightmare, they were actually worse at predicting this last election than they were in 2016. Trump wasn't even supposed to come close. Why are they off so by so much? Well, part of it is that these polls are not Valid to be used as predictions of the actual election until maybe the last week or better yet the last day. In fact, their Validity goes up with each hour closer to the election, but you wouldn't know that from the people who talk about them weeks b