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Empirical testing

Determining if someone is single is a bit like trying to disprove the null hypothesis. You talk a few times, ask a few subtle questions. But if they don't mention a significant other, it doesn't mean they don't have one. It could be that your method just wasn't sensitive enough to detect it.

December 24, 2005 : 7:56 PM
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Comments

So different levels of dating audacity is just choosing different significance thresholds, eh?

That would make a great Hallmark card for statisticians: a twee little teddy bear with caption "I <3 YOU (p < 0.05)"
posted by jcreed : December 25, 2005 12:37 AM : link to this comment

Or, to use my least favorite verb:

Though not significant, the data trend toward romance (p < 0.10).
posted by Moira : December 25, 2005 11:35 PM : link to this comment

Good pick up lines too. "Hey gorgeous, want to see if we can generate enough power to limit type 1 error?"

And when things do turn out, you can honestly call that person...your significant other. ;-)
posted by Jason Ediger : December 27, 2005 9:07 AM : link to this comment

Structural equation modeling is clearly the solution. You drop subtle hints towards mutual acquaintences, and correlate their responses, then use some sort of logistic model to generate an ogive predictor curve.

...and there's no such thing as generating enough power to limit type 1 error. :-p
posted by Muffin : January 03, 2006 3:11 AM : link to this comment

Nerds! All of you!

And Muffin, your method of correlating responses of mutual acquaintances has another name: the seventh-grade technique.
posted by Moira : January 03, 2006 10:47 PM : link to this comment

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Psst! This is the blog of Moira Burke, a Ph.D. student in the HCI Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Rife with derivative pop culture blather, this site occasionally features thoughts on social psychology, usability, aesthetics, and the general meanderings of someone figuring out the meaning of life. Won't you help me find it?

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