[EM] What Martin said

[Martin Harper]

So much for taking this off the list... :(

MIKE OSSIPOFF wrote:

> Now, Martin said incorrectly that I mean something different by "if" than
> mathematicians do, and then said that, for that reason, what I mean by 
> "probability" isn't probability.

No I didn't.

> So Martin, is what I call probability, 
> in the 2 versions of my definition, not probability?

I'm going to have to reply "no comment" here - I haven't read through 
your definition in sufficient detail to form an opinion. Skimming it, it 
seems reasonable.

> Or were you maybe making some careless statements--a wrong one, and
> a premature one?

Specifically, I said the following, in private email:

------------------------------
Oh, if you want to use some other definition of "if" in statement three, 
that's fine too, and I'll accept statement #3 on that basis. However, 
then your argument falls down on statement #4, because probability is 
defined using mathematical ifs - and if you calculate it some other way, 
then you won't get a probability. If you don't get a probability, you 
can't use it to accurately calculate the utilities of voting for or 
against each candidate.
------------------------------

Notice keyword "if" used several times. *IF* you want to use some other 
definition... *IF* you calculate it some other way... *IF* you don't get 
a probability. And we all agree on what "if" means, don't we? ;-)

Martin