Our president, Julia Galef, is visiting Carnegie Mellon university on Monday, October 7th. She'll be speaking on the topic, "How to Change Your Mind: Science and Bayesianism in Everyday Life." Her talk will be hosted by the Carnegie Mellon Humanist League.
Here's Julia's précis of her talk
One of science's biggest strengths is its ability to change its mind when new evidence comes to light. Unfortunately, we as individuals don't often live up to that ideal -- even scientists aren't perfect at changing their minds, and can be as bad as the rest of us once they leave the lab. This talk will explain Bayesianism as a theory of how one should change one's mind in response to new evidence, and discuss its uses and limitations in real life. We'll also explore the science behind why we're so resistant to changing our minds, and some promising techniques that might help us "un-stick" our opinions when they're stuck.
So, in honor of her visit, anyone have an idea what the most rational color is to paint a fence in honor of Julia and the Reverend Bayes? (I'm sure we all know the most efficient way to get the painting done, once we choose a color.)