The Relationship Between Proof and Certainty in Mathematical Practice

2022 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-84

Many mathematics educators believe a goal of instruction is for students to obtain conviction and certainty in mathematical statements using the same types of evidence that mathematicians do. However, few empirical studies have examined how mathematicians use proofs to obtain conviction and certainty. We report on a study in which 16 advanced mathematics doctoral students were given a task-based interview in which they were presented with various sources of evidence in support of a specific mathematical claim and were asked how convinced they were that the claim was true after reviewing this evidence. In particular, we explore why our participants retained doubts about our claim after reading its proof and how they used empirical evidence to reduce those doubts.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunbing Shen

Microexpressions do exist, and they are regarded as valid cues to deception by many researchers, furthermore, there is a lot of empirical evidence which substantiates this claim. However, some researchers don’t think the microexpression can be a way to catch a liar. The author elucidates the theories predicting that looking for microexpressions can be a way to catch a liar, and notes that some data can support for the utilization of microexpressions as a good way to detect deception. In addition, the author thinks that the mixed results in the area of investigating microexpressions and deception detection may be moderated by the stake. More empirical studies which employ high-stake lies to explore the relationship between microexpressions and deception detection are needed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Otto ◽  
Graham Voss

This paper contains a survey of recent empirical research on the relationship between public capital and private sector production. The implications of these empirical studies for policy debates over the appropriate level of public capital are also examined.


Author(s):  
Sarah Tahamont ◽  
Aaron Chalfin

This chapter presents empirical evidence regarding the (in)effectiveness of prisons for reducing crime. The authors begin with a brief discussion of the mechanisms through which incarceration affects crime, followed by a review of research that presents empirical evidence on the relationship between prisons and crime. This section separates empirical research on the total effect of prison on crime from empirical studies intended to isolate the deterrent or incapacitation effects of prison. Death penalty studies are also reviewed for insight into whether capital punishment has any short- or long-term effects on homicide rates. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the policy implications that follow from the empirical research on prison effects on crime.


Author(s):  
Armin Schnider

This chapter summarizes current interpretations of all forms of confabulations discussed in the book and reviews the relationship between the four forms of memory-related confabulations. Experimental investigation has confirmed the dissociation between various types of false memories and considerably advanced the understanding of the mechanisms of some forms of confabulation, in particular behaviourally spontaneous confabulation and false statements in anosognosia. Overall, experimental evidence is scarce; many models have no controlled experimental basis or extend their proposed range of application well beyond the empirical evidence. The chapter concludes with a call for heightened respect of basic scientific standards in the research on confabulation.


Author(s):  
Avner Baz

The chapter argues that empirical studies of first-language acquisition lend support to the Wittgensteinian-Merleau-Pontian conception of language as against the prevailing conception that underwrites the method of cases in either its armchair or experimental version. It offers a non-representationalist model, inspired by the work of Michael Tomasello, for the acquisition of “knowledge,” with the aim of showing that we could fully account for the acquisition of this and other philosophically troublesome words without positing independently existing “items” to which these words refer. The chapter also aims at bringing out and underscoring the striking fact that, whereas many in contemporary analytic philosophy regard and present themselves as open and attentive to empirical science, they have often relied on a conception of language that has been supported by no empirical evidence.


The environment has always been a central concept for archaeologists and, although it has been conceived in many ways, its role in archaeological explanation has fluctuated from a mere backdrop to human action, to a primary factor in the understanding of society and social change. Archaeology also has a unique position as its base of interest places it temporally between geological and ethnographic timescales, spatially between global and local dimensions, and epistemologically between empirical studies of environmental change and more heuristic studies of cultural practice. Drawing on data from across the globe at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, this volume resituates the way in which archaeologists use and apply the concept of the environment. Each chapter critically explores the potential for archaeological data and practice to contribute to modern environmental issues, including problems of climate change and environmental degradation. Overall the volume covers four basic themes: archaeological approaches to the way in which both scientists and locals conceive of the relationship between humans and their environment, applied environmental archaeology, the archaeology of disaster, and new interdisciplinary directions.The volume will be of interest to students and established archaeologists, as well as practitioners from a range of applied disciplines.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1211-1226
Author(s):  
Phan Tran Minh Hung ◽  
Tran Thi Trang Dai ◽  
Phan Nguyen Bao Quynh ◽  
Le Duc Toan ◽  
Vo Hoang Diem Trinh

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