The role of assumptions in causal discovery

The paper looks at the conditional independence search approach to causal discovery, proposed by Spirtes et al. and Pearl and Verma, from the point of view of the mechanism-based view of causality in econometrics, explicated by Simon. As demonstrated by Simon, the problem of determining the causal structure from data is severely underconstrained and the perceived causal structure depends on the a priori assumptions that one is willing to make. I discuss the assumptions made in the independence search-based causal discovery and their identifying strength

Comparison and Mapping Facilitate Relation Discovery and Predication

Relational concepts play a central role in human perception and cognition, but little is known about how they are acquired. For example, how do we come to understand that physical force is a higher-order multiplicative relation between mass and acceleration, or that two circles are the same-shape in the same way that two squares are? A recent model of relational learning, DORA (Discovery of Relations by Analogy; Doumas, Hummel & Sandhofer, 2008), predicts that comparison and analogical mapping play a central role in the discovery and predication of novel higher-order relations. We report two experiments testing and confirming this prediction

Discovery Is Never By Chance: Designing for (Un)Serendipity

Serendipity has a long tradition in the history of science as having played a key role in many significant discoveries. Computer scientists, valuing the role of serendipity in discovery, have attempted to design systems that encourage serendipity. However, that research has focused primarily on only one aspect of serendipity: that of chance encounters. In reality, for serendipity to be valuable chance encounters must be synthesized into insight. In this paper we show, through a formal consideration of serendipity and analysis of how various systems have seized on attributes of interpreting serendipity, that there is a richer space for design to support serendipitous creativity, innovation and discovery than has been tapped to date. We discuss how ideas might be encoded to be shared or discovered by ‘association-hunting’ agents. We propose considering not only the inventor’s role in perceiving serendipity, but also how that inventor’s perception may be enhanced to increase the opportunity for serendipity. We explore the role of environment and how we can better enable serendipitous discoveries to find a home more readily and immediately

Legal Research in an Electronic Age: Electronic Data Discovery, a Litigation Albatross of Gigantic Proportions

[Excerpt] “The increase in e-discovery, e-discovery‘s impact on litigation, and the courts‘ unavoidable role in defining the limits of discovery led to the author‘s decision to develop this article. The availability, accessibility, and the ease of requesting electronic data, resulting in increased e-discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, is an important issue that will affect the legal profession and its constituents in many ways for years to come. Part II of this article is an overview of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). This part stresses that in recognizing the herculean task involved in e-discovery, courts expect that litigants immediately begin the process of understanding what their cases require from an e-discovery standpoint. Part III highlights judges and cases that have had a clear hand in shaping the terrain of where electronic data discovery issues are heading. Part IV examines the ramifications of failing to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f), illustrating the importance of Rule 26(f) in the litigation process. Abiding by the agreements that the parties reach under Rule 26(f) could avoid most, if not all, e-discovery problems. Part V examines problems associated with electronic data discovery. Part VI offers workable solutions to electronic data discovery concerns. Finally, Part VII concludes that even though the outer boundaries of e-discovery may be uncertain, judges, practitioners, and law schools must work together to ensure that exposure, training, and classes are available from the earliest possible time to ensure efficient and responsible adherence to the new requirements that the electronic age has brought to the litigation process.

The discovery of lymphatic system as a turning point in medical knowledge: Aselli, Pecquet and the end of hepatocentrism

In this paper, I would like to analyse the impact of the discovery of lymphatic system on the development of the modern conception of human body. The discovery of lymphatics, as that of blood circulation, has in fact questioned important tenets of Galen's anatomo-physiology. Galen defended a 'dualistic conception' of the blood: he distinguished two different systems, the hepatic-venous system and the cardio-arterial one. The liver played a pivotal role because it was believed to transform the chyle received by the portal vein into venous blood. The discovery of lymphatics challenged this view: 17th-century anatomical dissections and experiments, starting with the discovery of milky veins by Gaspare Aselli (1581-1625) and the studies on thoracic duct by Jean Pecquet (1622-1674), irrefutably showed that the chyle does not pour out in the liver and that, consequently, the liver does not produce blood

Contribution to Price Discovery in the Forest Product Market: Futures, Forwards, and Spot Markets

This research examines the lead-lag relationships between futures prices, prices from a cash forward market, and spot prices for two forest product markets. Results suggest that for 2x4 lumber, the forward market provides some level of price discovery, but futures play a dominant price discovery role for oriented strand board.Marketing,