214 research outputs found
Confirmation and Reduction: A Bayesian Account
No full textVarious scientific theories stand in a reductive relation to each other. In a recent article, we have argued that a generalized version of the Nagel-Schaffner model (GNS) is the right account of this relation. In this article, we present a Bayesian analysis of how GNS impacts on confirmation. We formalize the relation between the reducing and the reduced theory before and after the reduction using Bayesian networks, and thereby show that, post-reduction, the two theories are confirmatory of each other. We then ask when a purported reduction should be accepted on epistemic grounds. To do so, we compare the prior and posterior probabilities of the conjunction of both theories before and after the reduction and ask how well each is confirmed by the available evidence
Models as make-believe
No full textpublication-status: PublishedOriginal article published in R. Frigg & M. Hunter (Eds.), Beyond
Mimesis and Convention, Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science (pp. 71-96).
Dordrecht: Springer (2010)In this paper I propose an account of representation for scientific models based on Kendall Walton’s “make-believe” theory of representation in art. I first set out the problem of scientific representation and respond to a recent argument due to Craig Callender and Jonathan Cohen, which aims to show that the problem may be easily dismissed. I then introduce my account of models as props in games of make-believe and show how it offers a solution to the problem. Finally, I demonstrate an important advantage my account has over other theories of scientific representation. All existing theories analyze scientific representation in terms of relations, such as similarity or denotation. By contrast, my account does not take representation in modeling to be essentially relational. For this reason, it can accommodate a group of models often ignored in discussions of scientific representation, namely models which are representational but which represent no actual object
Entropy - A Guide for the Perplexed
No full textEntropy is ubiquitous in physics, and it plays important roles in numerous other disciplines ranging from logic and statistics to biology and economics. However, a closer look reveals a complicated picture: entropy is defined differently in different contexts, and even within the same domain different notions of entropy are at work. Some of these are defined in terms of probabilities, others are not. The aim of this chapter is to arrive at an understanding of some of the most important notions of entropy and to clarify the relations between them, After setting the stage by introducing the thermodynamic entropy (Section 2), we discuss notions of entropy in information theory (Section 3), statistical mechanics (Section 4), dynamical systems theory (Section 5) and fractal geometry (Section 6)
Ocean drifters from oil-on-water exercise in North Sea (Frigg oil field) June 2019
No full textOcean drifters from oil-on-water exercise in North Sea (Frigg oil field) June 2019. Described in more detail in Brekke, C., Espeseth, M. M., Dagestad, K.-F., Röhrs, J., Hole, L. R., & Reigber, A. (2021). Integrated analysis of multisensor datasets and oil drift simulations - a free-floating oil experiment in the open ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016499. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016499
Work is funded by grant no. 237906 (CIRFA) of the Norwegian Research Council.Work is funded by grant no. 237906 (CIRFA) of the Norwegian Research Counci
What is Statistical Mechanics?
No full textThermodynamics describes a large class of phenomena we observe in macroscopic systems. The aim of statistical mechanics is to account for this behaviour in terms of the dynamical laws governing the microscopic constituents of macroscopic systems and probabilistic assumptions. This
article provides a survey of the discussion about the foundation of statistical mechanics by introducing the basic approaches and discussing their merits as well as their problems. After a brief review of classical mechanics, which provides the background against which statistical mechanics is formulated, we discuss the two main theoretical approaches to statistical mechanics, one of which can be associated with Boltzmann and the other with Gibbs. We end with a discussion of remaining
issues and open questions
Foundations of concrete gravity structures in the North Sea
No full textOverview publication on the foundation of gravity based (concrete) offshore structures in the North Sea, like Ekofist, Brent, Frigg, Statfjord, Dunlin and Cormorant
A Field Guide to Recent Work on the Foundations of Statistical Mechanics.
No full textThis is an extensive review of recent work on the foundations of statistical mechanics
Demystifying Typicality
No full textA gas prepared in a non-equilibrium state will approach equilibrium and stay there. An influential contemporary approach to Statistical Mechanics explains this behaviour in terms of typicality. However, this explanation has been criticised as mysterious as long as no connection with the dynamics of the system is established. We take this criticism as our point of departure. Our central claim is that Hamiltonians of gases which are epsilon-ergodic are typical with respect to the Whitney topology. Because equilibrium states are typical, we argue that there follows the desired conclusion that typical initial conditions approach equilibrium and stay there
R. Frigg & M. C. Hunter, eds. 2010. Beyond Mimesis and Convention: Representation in art and science. Dordrecht: Springer.
No full textCompte rendu d'ouvrageThe book edited by Roman Frigg and Matthew C. Hunter is a great example of interdisciplinary collaborative work, bringing together contributions by scholars of science and of art, around the topic of representation. The collection consists of eleven essays, seven of which were presented in early form at a conference organized by the two editors at the London School of Economics and the Courtauld Institute of Art in June 2006; the other four have been added subsequently. The result is a high-standard, remarkably edited book
Typicality and the Approach to Equilibrium in Boltzmannian Statistical Mechanics
No full textSystems prepared in a non-equilibrium state approach, and eventually reach, equilibrium. Why do they do so? An important contemporary version of the Boltzmannian approach to statistical mechanics answers this question in terms of typicality. The problem with this approach is that it comes in different versions, which are, however, not recognised as such and not clearly distinguished. The aim of this paper is to identify three different versions of typicality-based explanations of thermodynamic-like behaviour and evaluate their respective success. My conclusion is that the first two are unsuccessful because they fail to take the system’s dynamics into account. The third, however, is promising. I give a precise formulation of the proposal and present an argument in support of its central contention
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