NICK@AI.AI.MIT.EDU (Nick Papadakis) (06/04/88)
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 88 16:06 EDT From: Conrad Bock <BOCK@INTELLICORP.ARPA> Subject: Objective standards for agreement on theories To: ailist@AI.AI.MIT.EDU Those concerned about whether theories are given by reality or are social constructions might look at Clark Glymour's book ``Theory and Evidence''. It is the basis for his later book, mentioned already already on the AIList, that gives software that determines the ``best theory'' for a set of data. Glymour states that his intention has been to balence some of the completely relativist positions that arose with Quine (who said: ``to be is to be denoted''). His theoretical work has many case studies from Copernicus to Freud that apply his algorithm to show that it picks the ``winning'' theory. Conrad Bock -------