tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27299492.post8321076522260661050..comments2023-07-17T07:21:34.831-04:00Comments on What'd I Say?: Dr. Gottheil's 'Statement of Concern is now posted at PetitionsOnline.com...repsac3http://www.blogger.com/profile/15458282944035344707noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27299492.post-83982517221316785292010-09-30T13:58:25.889-04:002010-09-30T13:58:25.889-04:00While I agree that Dr. Gottheil's whole point ...While I agree that Dr. Gottheil's whole point was to "prove" some kind of hypocrisy on the part of (largely liberal) academics (as opposed to actually, y'know, helping the folks in the Middle East), he failed to actually make that point, because the methodology of his little "experiment" was so poor.<br /><br />On the other hand, I have a list of 42 conservative blogs at this post (as well as one lib blog, and Dr Gottheil, himself, via e-mail), all of whom professed to care enough about this issue to post about it. And yet, I've only received 9 signatures on my petition, to date. And one of them is mine. I fail to see how anyone can honestly condemn one set of folks who didn't sign the petition (the academics, who may or may not've even received/read Dr Gottheil's e-mail request, as I explain in some of my other posts), while simultaneously giving a pass to another (these conservative bloggers and their conservative readers, many of whom had to actually approve the comment I left on their blogs, which is evidence they saw my request to sign the petition regarding this issue THEY posted about, and yet still didn't sign).<br /><br />Now personally, I don't believe my "experiment" is any more conclusive than Dr. Gottheil's... ...but I don't believe it's any less conclusive, either. <br /><br />I'm sorry, but Dr Gottheil, and those who agree with him as well, seem to believe that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation" rel="nofollow">correlation proves causation</a> (<i>cum hoc ergo propter hoc</i>), and that just isn't necessarily the case. Because Dr Gottheil did nothing to weed out or explain away a single one of the many other possible reasons that folks may not've replied to his single "cold call" e-mail (right down to one or two of 'em "<i>not being much of a petition signer</i>," like you--Dr Lloyd's being the only one they ever signed, perhaps, and only because the woman who handed it to him was hot--anything's possible), or even bothered to explain or to match the signature gathering methodology of Dr. Lloyd and the "Israel divestment" petition, he has not made his case in the slightest. Not if one is honest about it, anyway...<br /><br />You can believe as you will, of course, (but you could've done THAT, in the first place), but Dr Gottheil's "experiment" does not withstand scrutiny, under even the simplest of scientific or statistical standards.repsac3https://www.blogger.com/profile/15458282944035344707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27299492.post-49774607504441669402010-09-30T13:07:10.895-04:002010-09-30T13:07:10.895-04:00For myself, I'm not much of a petition signer....For myself, I'm not much of a petition signer. I will say, though, that whether or not I myself sign it, Dr. Gottheil's point about academia was made rather well, which is, I believe, the whole point of his exercise. My signature on the petition would not change that.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09604044501199775703noreply@blogger.com