Re: Bell Curve and IQ

HARRY R. ERWIN (herwin@osf1.gmu.edu)
20 Nov 1995 18:14:19 GMT

H. M. Hubey (hubey@pegasus.montclair.edu) wrote:
: herwin@gmu.edu (Harry Erwin) writes:

: >He's a decent non-linear dynamicist. He seems to get into trouble when he
: >moves out of math into science--a common problem with mathematicians since
: >we're not trained in the scientific method.

: I'm not a mathematician, Erwin :-).

You've kept up with the results in non-linear dynamics much better than I
have over the last five years. I dropped out when I got sucked into
neuroscience.

: To me everything is a hobby. In fact, I think visually and do the
: math later. I already know the answer before I try to show it.

Sounds like a typical mathematician with a visual intuition. I got
hammered by my committee when I did that (recently), because it meant I
didn't understand the scientific method. I'm beginning to learn how to
develop scientific hypotheses--"a statement of a possible generalization
or cause and effect relationship that is to be tested." The ideas are
important, but so is the explicit testability.

--
Harry Erwin
Internet: herwin@gmu.edu
Home Page: http://osf1.gmu.edu/~herwin (try a couple of times)
PhD student in comp neurosci: "Glitches happen" & "Meaning is emotional"
Previously PhD student (ABD) in algebraic topology (UCSD, 1968-72)