Each model, however, simple or complicated, will be associated with a statement of uncertainty.
A probability is, of course, a statement of uncertainty: "We predict the weather will most often be X, sometimes be Y, and occasionally be Z".
Therefore, I make it a point to include a statement of uncertainty when offering my assessment and plan to patients in situations where a constellation of symptoms don't immediately add up by the end of an office visit.
Indeed, there was often a statement of uncertainty at the core of the neurologist's response: I don't understand it.
The need to understand and quantify uncertainty is obvious when we observe that Mead et al., despite the clearly uncertain data and calculations, emphasized (in the abstract and press releases) a result to two significant figures, 76 million U.S. cases per year, with no statement of uncertainty or a plausible range of values.
Shares in SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome, the pharmaceutical companies set for a £91bn merger, were among the biggest fallers yesterday after their trading statements sent waves of uncertainty through the City.
Under logistic regression, four factors were found to be significantly associated with a 'do not list' (DNL) recommendation: a statement of clinical uncertainty, a request for reconsideration (a form of appeal), the use of price as the only economic evidence, and price greater than comparators [ 4].
The statement followed hours of uncertainty about the president's intentions and intense jockeying among politicians, some of whom had been anticipating a new era under Mr. Jonathan, who had promised a drive against corruption and other significant changes in the oil-rich country.
It therefore follows that statements about the conservativeness of uncertainty factors, the safety of chemicals or mixtures invariably withhold hidden beliefs and value judgments.
