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Power posteriors "robustify" standard Bayesian inference by raising the likelihood to a constant fractional power, effectively downweighting its influence in the calculation of the posterior. Power posteriors have been shown to be more…
The curse of dimensionality is a common phenomenon which affects analysis of datasets characterized by large numbers of variables associated with each point. Problematic scenarios of this type frequently arise in classification algorithms…
From data in the present we can predict the future and retrodict the past. These predictions and retrodictions are for histories -- most simply time sequences of events. Quantum mechanics gives probabilities for individual histories in a…
Unitary quantum theory, having no Born Rule, is non-probabilistic. Hence the notorious problem of reconciling it with the unpredictability and appearance of stochasticity in quantum measurements. Generalising and improving upon the…
Hamilton's method (also called method of largest remainder) is a natural and common method to distribute seats proportionally between states (or parties) in a parliament. In USA it has been abandoned due to some drawbacks, in particular the…
I discuss how modern cosmology illustrates under-determination of theoretical hypotheses by data, in ways that are different from most philosophical discussions. I emphasize cosmology's concern with what data could in principle be collected…
We investigate temporal and causal threads in the fabric of contemporary physical theories with an emphasis on empirical and operationalistic aspects. Building on the axiomatization of general relativity proposed by J. Ehlers, F. Pirani and…
Even when completely and consistently formulated, a fundamental theory of physics and cosmological boundary conditions may not give unambiguous and unique predictions for the universe we observe; indeed inflation, string/M theory, and…
We argue against current proposals concerning the non-existence of time. We point out that a large number of these proposals rely, at least implicitly, on the assumption of `closure' (or `partial closure') of the laws of Physics. I.e. the…
In a recent paper (quant-ph/9906015), Deutsch claims to derive the "probabilistic predictions of quantum theory" from the "non-probabilistic axioms of quantum theory" and the "non-probabilistic part of classical decision theory." We show…
Cosmology seems extremely remote from everyday human practice and experience. It is usually taken for granted that cosmological data cannot rationally influence our beliefs about the fate of humanity -- and possible other intelligent…
Recent astronomical observations of SNIa, CMB, as well as BAO in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, suggest that the current Universe has entered a stage of an accelerated expansion with the transition redshift at $z \simeq 0.5$. While the…
The distribution of the spin directions of galaxies has been a question in the past decade, with numerous Earth-based and space-based experiments showing that the distribution is not necessarily random. These experiments were based on…
We discuss various space-time metrics which are compatible with Einstein's equations and a previously suggested cosmology with a finite total mass. In this alternative cosmology the matter density was postulated to be a spatial delta…
In this paper, it is shown that the cosmological model that was introduced in a sequence of three earlier papers under the title, A Dust Universe Solution to the Dark Energy Problem can be used to analyse and solve the Cosmological…
As observers of the universe we are quantum physical systems within it. If the universe is very large in space and/or time, the probability becomes significant that the data on which we base predictions is replicated at other locations in…
Recent decades have seen an interest in prediction problems for which Bayesian methodology has been used ubiquitously. Sampling from or approximating the posterior predictive distribution in a Bayesian model allows one to make inferential…
Ambitious civilizations that expand for resources at an intergalactic scale could be observable from a cosmological distance, but how likely is one to be visible to us? The question comes down to estimating the appearance rate of such…
Special relativity is most naturally formulated as a theory of space-time geometry, but within the space-time framework probability apears to be at best an epistemic notion - a matter of what can be known, not of the status of events in…
For chaotic systems there is a theory for the decay of the survival probability, and for the parametric dependence of the local density of states. This theory leads to the distinction between "perturbative" and "non-perturbative" regimes,…