“The usefulness of the models in constructing a testable theory of the process is severely limited by the quickly increasing number of parameters which must be estimated in order to compare the predictions of the models with empirical results.” OrderProcessResultsNumbersTheoryModelsComparePredictionsUsefulnessParameters Book:Prisoner's Dilemma: A Study in Conflict and Cooperation Source: Prisoner's Dilemma: A Study in Conflict and Cooperation
“the truth and value of a theory does not depend on the number of people who are interested in it - otherwise you might compare the number of people who follow the predictions of astrologers in the daily press with those who attend lectures by Einstein, and conclude that astrology was more valuable and true than physics.” PeopleDoeMightValuesNumbersTheoryDependsPressesValuablePhysicsComparePopularityPredictionsAstrologyLectures Author:Dorothy L. Sayers
“I believe that only short-term price swings can be predicted with any precision. The accuracy of a prediction drops off dramatically, the more distant the forecast time. I'm a strong believer in chaos theory.” BelieveStrongI BelieveTermTheoryChaosBelieverSwingsPredictionsShort TermAccuracyPrecisionForecastsChaos Theory Author:Linda Bradford Raschke
“Four predictions of the Big Bang Theory have now been verified - surely enough to quench even the most biased critics.” EnoughBigsFourTheoryCriticsPredictionsBangsBiasedQuench Author:Joseph Silk
“We do have tendency, now in biology especially to make up stories, to make theoretical biology a kind of game, in fact we have game theory in biology which is meant to use the theory of games to make predictions or explain things.” KindFactsStoriesUseGamesTheoryTendenciesBiologyPredictionsTheoretical Author:Richard Lewontin
“The thing about a theory in science is it allows you make predictions. Evolutionary theory allows us to predict what apples will taste good next harvest.” NextTheoryTasteApplesHarvestPredictions Author:Bill Nye
“The paradigm of physics - with its interplay of data, theory and prediction - is the most powerful in science.” PowerfulTheoryPhysicsDataMost PowerfulPredictionsParadigm Author:Geoffrey West
“A rational prediction has an explanation based on theory.” TheoryManagementRationalExplanationPredictions Author:W. Edwards Deming
“There is no theory that would guide us through interplantary space to another world even if we could control our departure from the earth; there is no means of carrying the large amount oxygen, water, and food that would be necessary for such a long journey; and there is not known way of easing our ether ship down on the surface of another world, if we could get there.” IfsWorldWayMeanLongWould BeEarthWaterSpaceKnownJourneyTheoryAmountSurfaceGuidesShipsAviationPredictionsOxygenDepartureAnother WorldLong Journey Author:Forest Ray Moulton
“I accept that climate change is a challenge, I accept the broad theory about global warming. I am sceptical about a lot of the more gloomy predictions.” ChallengesAcceptingTheoryClimateClimate ChangeGlobal WarmingBroadsPredictionsGloomy Author:John Howard
“Most of Marx's predictions have failed to materialize, and his labor theory of value and other ideas have been proven wrong. Marx failed to recognize the incentive system built into the capitalist model - consumer choice and the profit motive of the entrepreneur. The irony is that capitalism, not socialism or Marxism, that has liberated the worker from the chains of poverty, monopoly, war, and oppression, and has better achieved Marx's vision of a millennium of hope, peace, abundance, leisure, and aesthetic expression for the 'full' human being.” HumansHas BeensIdeasWarValuesChoicesHuman BeingsVisionPovertyExpressionTheoryModelsCapitalismBuiltLaborEntrepreneurWorkersProfitSocialismOppressionChainsConsumersIronyMotiveAbundanceAestheticCapitalistLeisureProvenPredictionsIncentivesMonopolyMarxismLiberatedMillenniumProfit MotiveProven WrongConsumer Choice Author:Mark Skousen
“The fact that these scientific theories have a fine track record of successful prediction and explanation speaks for itself. (Which is not to say that I don't directly discuss the work of those philosophers who would disagree.) But even if we grant this, many will argue that scientific knowledge in humans, and, indeed, reflective knowledge in general, is quite different in kind from the knowledge we see in other animals.” IfsHumansKindDifferentFactsSpeakAnimalSuccessfulRecordsTheoryFineTrackPhilosopherArguingExplanationGrantsDisagreePredictionsScientific KnowledgeScientific TheoryTrack Record Author:Hilary Kornblith
“Evolutionary theory tends to explain quite well in retrospect how various species emerged. It's not very good on prediction. Nevertheless, one cannot say that there isn't a lot of knowledge that's been obtained in this field. In the same way, with these complex physical phenomena between solid state physics, you can say a lot of things without necessarily knowing the next step.” WayWellsStatesNextStepsKnowingFieldsTheorySpeciesComplexesVery GoodVariousPhysicsNeverthelessPredictionsNext StepsRetrospect Author:Kenneth Arrow