... thetheory expounded here will become the conventional probabilitytheoryofthe future History: The present form of this work is the result of an evolutionary growth over many years My interest ... Sampling Theory Chapter Elementary Hypothesis Testing Chapter Queer Uses for ProbabilityTheory Chapter Elementary Parameter Estimation Chapter The Central Gaussian, or Normal, Distribution Chapter ... but Plya thought the resemblance to be only qualitative o However, Plya demonstrated this qualitative agreement in such complete, exhaustive detail o as to suggest that there must be more to...
... but some ofthe best of them don t They must, though, be able to learn science, be eager to wade into its complexities, ask intelligent questions, and shake off the high intimidation quotient of ... formidable material at just those readers presumed to have little background, education, or interest in it Science writers and editors needn t start off knowing much science Some ofthe best of them do, ... what those squiggles and slashes and XXXs do? They change your words and ideas, develop them, reorder them, dismember them, turn them inside out, or obliterate them altogether They signify, at...
... terial as they with the readers Indeed, their curiosity and its fruits are a large part of what the reader senses, of what lets the reader trust them—a process that begins with the first sentence ... all,WRITE Writing is what writers At parties, people often tell me that they have decided they want to be writers, and they’ll get started as soon as they have more time, or when they have their study ... truth is always partial.Yet, for the most part, the best scientists agree on the current best theory, which they recognize because, well, it fits It answers the most questions with the greatest...
... terial as they with the readers Indeed, their curiosity and its fruits are a large part of what the reader senses, of what lets the reader trust them—a process that begins with the first sentence ... all,WRITE Writing is what writers At parties, people often tell me that they have decided they want to be writers, and they’ll get started as soon as they have more time, or when they have their study ... truth is always partial.Yet, for the most part, the best scientists agree on the current best theory, which they recognize because, well, it fits It answers the most questions with the greatest...
... terial as they with the readers Indeed, their curiosity and its fruits are a large part of what the reader senses, of what lets the reader trust them—a process that begins with the first sentence ... all,WRITE Writing is what writers At parties, people often tell me that they have decided they want to be writers, and they’ll get started as soon as they have more time, or when they have their study ... truth is always partial.Yet, for the most part, the best scientists agree on the current best theory, which they recognize because, well, it fits It answers the most questions with the greatest...
... may remember that in chapter I told you not to write about the subject closest to your heart, “meaning material that came to you as a revelation, a bolt of lightning that lit up the entire internal ... pick the right one for you Specifically, bashers need something to trigger their adrenaline So they often thrive as staff, goaded on by the rest ofthe group (not to mention the boss) Gregarious types ... the train of thought? Summarize each one in your own words, just a sentence or two Great! There’s your outline Put the ideas in some sensible order and write your article The next one will be...
... truth is always partial.Yet, for the most part, the best scientists agree on the current best theory, which they recognize because, well, it fits It answers the most questions with the greatest ... questions They know the latest They never eat lunch alone It will pay you to find out who these gatekeepers are and befriend them, because you, too, need their wise judgment So-called scientific ... he sees how the picture has to be And that night he crouches at the kitchen table till dawn, working out his new equation The sky and basket join, and the leaves turn out to fill the basket The...
... happens.”58 They were also able to deduce that the history ofthe team performance matters: the higher the team performance at the start, the greater the team performance thereafter (although the ... part ofthe total cost, and the greater the number of attendees at the meetings, the greater the cost The committee problem is similar to the problem of pollution considered at several points ... by the independent actions of laborers; the interest of students is to have better instruction; the interest of faculties is to educate quality graduates These are examples ofthe common interest...
... animal trainers count on them They call them “prelearning temper tantrums,” because the frustration means that the creature is about to get it Neurologists have a saying: “Neurons that fire together ... write with the same care They connect as deeply with the ma- Ideas into Words terial as they with the readers Indeed, their curiosity and its fruits are a large part of what the reader senses, of ... but they feel annoyed and flip It is a lovely moment, there in the train station, to watch someone absorbed in an article that you have written Few people write enough to see it often, but it...
... instead of writing Write That is so important, I’ll say it again: Above all,WRITE Writing is what writers At parties, people often tell me that they have decided they want to be writers, and they’ll ... get started as soon as they have more time, or when they have their study fixed up, or when they get a new computer, or when they can afford to go back to school, or after the precession ofthe ... group, or take a course, or all four together Write, then get someone to give you a serious critique, then write more and better If the joy of it outweighs the pain— you’re a writer Many people, including...
... from the eyes of flies to the birth of stars, from the bottom ofthe ocean to the everyday flutter ofthe human heart Unseen worlds are daily becoming visible These stories have special appeal, not ... yet would not eat because they saw themselves as fat Eventually, they could not eat, and they sometimes died Well! We sat there with our mouths hanging open Really? They make themselves vomit? ... you’ve always yearned to write It might be the story that brought you into journalism (After all, it is so important that people understand!) It might even be the story that everyone except me tells...
... birth of stars The secret is to start with the Gestalt the big ideas that structure a discipline, so that you have a mental framework on which to hang the details Neophyte writers often stumble ... answered, however elementary, then to translate the result into some appropriate lay version The scientist need only fact-check Note the word translate, which my Webster’s defines (in part) as “to ... helps to be prepared, polite, and efficient in your interviews, which is the topic of this chapter But first, let me recommend one more attitude: Thescience writer and the scientist are allies,...
... there must have been other ways to approach the issue, so what was the advantage of this one? The answers are always part of a larger picture, about either thescience or the research strategy ... is the intermediate phase? What is the usual treatment? Does the medication have any adverse effects? Research and the Interview Questions from an imaginary patient, parent of patient, or friend ... concrete Scientists almost always know more than they can prove, because to get the next grant, they must offer evidence that what they propose is worth doing In effect, then, much research funded...
... with the other person suffered, plus I often lost track ofthe content The problem is that, when I’m typing at the speed of speech, the words blur into a succession of letter combinations that ... hard to get out oftheof ce About five or ten minutes before the appointment is scheduled to end, say something like, “Time’s running out Let me look at my questions to see if there’s anything we’ve ... enough to take detailed notes, however, you have a good chance to see the opening and precipitate the take-off, either with something you say or with your inviting silence You will get the best of...
... Murphy thumped me over the head at the close “We could a lot of good for other countries where they really need the camels for meat,” Skidmore said “Where they really need them for milk Where they ... teacher wanted to see one? Or were you somewhere in the middle? Maybe you outlined the main points before you wrote, but filled the rest in later for the teacher? Wherever you stood in that spectrum, ... case, is herd immunity to disease: the idea that if almost all ofthe group are immune, even the unvaccinated few are safe because they never get exposed— how could they? Everyone else has been...
... (opener), then tell ’em (the body ofthe piece), then tell ’em what you told ’em (the closer) That antique advice can still work for speeches, if the subject is so complex that listeners need the ... helix? The story loops, so that the reader enters and leaves the narrative at the same place (imagine the doctor’s of ce as one o’clock on the circle) But the second time around we have traversed ... and magnificent island.” Then I considered the essay’s title: The Island at the End ofthe Earth.” Hmm In many seagoing cultures, the islands at the end ofthe world are where the dead and dying...
... trouble with these items is that one gets attached to them, having invested the labor to create them Hence the value ofthe bone heap: Knowing you can always retrieve that little gem, you’ll find it ... There are many more For example, the watershed pattern: you see a stream of evidence here, another there, a third and a fourth some other place; they grow, they become rivers, and they converge! ... waves, the events ofthe last three chapters the struggle for life on other boats caught out, as well as the heroic deeds (including a death) ofthe Coast Guard rescue teams The book ends with...
... what they are saying is deeply counterintuitive [italics mine] Here Belkin joins the reader (“we protest”), and she spells it out that the experts encounter incredulity all the time It’s expected, ... exits Although the blood pressure medications that have been in use the longest relax the arteries entering the kidneys, they don t always act adequately in the internal kidney capillaries A bottleneck ... It’s their job to hit the ground hard enough to generate a force that can propel the horse forward On the face of it, however, a hoof seems like just about the worst piece of equipment for the task...