Estimation of piecewise linear functions
Suppose you have some dataset where you know or suspect that the real generating function is actually a piecewise function with k pieces each of which is a standard linear…
A more intuitive explanation of the correlation
Someone asks on Reddit: Can someone intuitively explain the correlation formula? I know what the Cov(X,Y) means. It tells you if the relationship between the variables X and Y is…
Correcting for n-level discretization?
When one has a continuous variable and then cuts it into bins (discretization) and correlates it with some other variable, the observed correlation is biased downwards to some extent. The…
Causality, transitivity and correlation
Disclaimer: Some not too structured thoughts. It's commonly said that correlation does not imply causation. That is true (see Gwern's analysis), but does causation imply correlation? Specifically, if "→" means…
Stereotypes are relevant for judgments about individuals even when one has individualized information
Title says it all. Apparently, some think this is not the case, but it is a straightforward application of Bayes' theorem. When I first learned of Bayes' theorem years ago,…
Differential measurement error and regression
In reviewing our upcoming target article in Mankind Quarterly (edit: now published), Gerhard Meisenberg wrote: “One possibility that you don’t seem to discuss is that there are true and large…
Linguistics paper (for class): Typology and statistics
This may have some interest. Basically, typologists cannot into statistics and it shows. On the other hand, it means there is a large number of low hanging fruit for someone…
Review: Quantitative Research in Linguistics: An Introduction
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19823567-quantitative-research-in-linguistics http://gen.lib.rus.ec/book/index.php?md5=3bb68f8bfea90338ad2efa04569108e2 There are few good things to say about this book. The best thing is on the very first page: Some things never change: the sun rises in the…
Empirical math, or how experiments can increase our confidence in mathematical conclusions despite access to formal proofs
Earlier posts: Something about certainty, proofs in math, induction/abduction, Is the summed cubes equal to the squared sum of counting integer series? The things I'm going to say for math…
Some methods for measuring and correcting for spatial autocorrelation
Published to The Winnower 2015/10/20. A properly formatted PDF of this paper can be downloaded here (not sized to A4 sheets). Abstract Two new approaches to spatial autocorrelation (SAC) were…