Friday 12 June 2009

How science works

I have been trying to get my head around 'evidence' as a general concept and unsurprisingly lawyers are pretty hung up about this. How 'evidence' in a scientific, engineering and statistical sense interacts with the law is the subject of this very large and authorative US Federal government Handbook on how to use scientific evidence in law courts = www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/sciman00.pdf/$file/sciman00.pdf .

There are extensive chapters on science, stats and engineering and how evidence from these different fields of endeavour should be considered by lawyers and judges.

I had a good detailed read of the chapter on 'How science works' and find it an excellent, informed and irreverent description of what actually happens in science rather than what theoretically happens.

Matt