{"product_id":"anthropic-bias-nick-bostrom-9780415938587","title":"Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAnthropic Bias\u003c\/em\u003e explores how to reason when you suspect that your evidence is biased by \"observation selection effects\"--that is, evidence that has been filtered by the precondition that there be some suitably positioned observer to \"have\" the evidence. This conundrum--sometimes alluded to as \"the anthropic principle,\" \"self-locating belief,\" or \"indexical information\"--turns out to be a surprisingly perplexing and intellectually stimulating challenge, one abounding with important implications for many areas in science and philosophy. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are the philosophical thought experiments and paradoxes: the Doomsday Argument; Sleeping Beauty; the Presumptuous Philosopher; Adam \u0026amp; Eve; the Absent-Minded Driver; the Shooting Room.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd there are the applications in contemporary science: cosmology (\"How many universes are there?\", \"Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life?\"); evolutionary theory (\"How improbable was the evolution of intelligent life on our planet?\"); the problem of time's arrow (\"Can it be given a thermodynamic explanation?\"); quantum physics (\"How can the many-worlds theory be tested?\"); game-theory problems with imperfect recall (\"How to model them?\"); even traffic analysis (\"Why is the 'next lane' faster?\").\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAnthropic Bias\u003c\/em\u003e argues that the same principles are at work across all these domains. And it offers a synthesis: a mathematically explicit theory of observation selection effects that attempts to meet scientific needs while steering clear of philosophical paradox.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Nick Bostrom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0415938589\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780415938587\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Routledge\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/12\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.56h x 6.36w x 0.80d","brand":"Nick Bostrom","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086668738815,"sku":"9780415938587","price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d8867ca4-2c6d-4a08-a35b-5c53e4185c24.jpg?v=1769095920","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/anthropic-bias-nick-bostrom-9780415938587","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}