Certainly, mathematics is a powerful tool for gaining insight into the natural world, but Taleb’s “Precautionary Principle” is no Principia Mathematica. It would be overly generous to call it a mathematical argument; “The Precautionary Principle” would be more accurately described as mathiness1. Rather than set out a rigorous argument, it uses things that feel like mathematics – graphs, equations, and technical definitions – to provide a veneer of rigor to an ideological agenda. Critically, it lacks the precision of language and the careful attention to assumptions that lie at the foundation of mathematical reasoning.
Source: The Mathiness of Nassim Nicholas Taleb
https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/625403098622730240
Can the GMO shills send us another mathematician to “debunk” PP? The only 2 flaws Merberg found were HIS mistakes. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50282823/response.pdf …