Factonista is an online freethought advocacy organization that relies on its users for content. Through international broad-based collaboration with its users, and other groups and organizations, it strives to provide timely and comprehensive news, views, reviews, and creative multimedia on issues at the forefront of everything under the umbrella of freethought
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That’s the title of the Organizations & Market post referencing this latest New York Times piece. We here in humanities land love to hear that our math can be useful math too. Hot on its heels comes this great crash course in Bayesian reasoning – required reading for every student interested in, well, doing probabilities right.
One of the common refrains in my field is that failures of Bayesian reasoning are behind lots of our errors of reasoning in general – Linda the Feminist Bank Teller and the Asian Disease framing problem immediately come to mind. Consider the first problem:
Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.
Which is more probable?
Linda is a bank teller.
Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.
And then the second. There will be a short quiz next period.
Do you rely on observable facts rather than your gut? Are you interested in science, human rights, skepticism, atheism, or humanism?
If so, and you have something to say and want it to be heard, Factonista has an extensive network of connections to ensure your opinions’ wide spreadability. We offer you a platform for your voice to be truly heard.
So what is Factonista?
Factoista is an online freethought advocacy organization that relies on its users for content. Through international broad-based collaboration with its users, and other groups and organizations, it strives to provide timely and comprehensive news, views, reviews, and creative multimedia on issues at the forefront of everything under the umbrella of freethought:
1. Defending civil liberties like freedoms of speech, inquiry, information, religion or lack thereof, and association
2. Opposing misinformation, pseudoscience, and quackery
3. Commenting on the intersection of religion with politics, science, human rights, and academia
4. Discussing media misinformation and reform, environmental defense, and human rights.
5., Defending and supporting the continued growth of the Internet as a central enabler of idea and information sharing, social organization, advocacy and political participation. Relevant issues include net neutrality, the social impact of the Net and various programs (e.g., the blogosphere, social networking and news aggregator applications, search engines), and means of enhancing netroots advocacy.
5. Contribute significantly to the expansion, coordination and social/political import and impact of humanism and freethought.
Factonista is about putting people before ideas, reason before superstition, and evidence before faith. It’s about being team players (i.e., putting reason, honesty, civility first), as we can achieve far more in collaboration than in isolation. And it’s about making the most of our creativity, diverse skills and backgrounds to contribute to a collective intelligence that will have influence far and wide.
