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Uncertainty: Overview

Uncertainty: Overview

In analytical chemistry, we often perform repetitive measurements to detect and minimize inaccuracies caused by both determinate and indeterminate errors. Despite the cares we take, the presence of random errors means that repeated measurements almost never have exactly the same magnitude. The collective difference between these measurements - observed values - and the estimated or expected value is called uncertainty. Uncertainty is conventionally written after the estimated or expected value.

Uncertainty: Confidence Intervals

Uncertainty: Confidence Intervals

The confidence interval is the range of values around the mean that contains the true mean. It is expressed as a probability percentage. The interpretation of a 95% confidence interval, for instance, is that the statistician is 95% confident that the true mean falls within the interval. The upper and lower limits of this range are known as confidence limits. The confidence limits for the true mean are estimated from the sample's mean, the standard deviation, and the statistical factor 't,' or...

Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error

Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error

An experiment often consists of more than a single step. In this case, measurements at each step give rise to uncertainty. Because the measurements occur in successive steps, the uncertainty in one step necessarily contributes to that in the subsequent step. As we perform statistical analysis on these types of experiments, we must learn to account for the propagation of uncertainty from one step to the next. The propagation of uncertainty depends on the type of arithmetic operation performed on...

Uncertainty in Measurement: Accuracy and Precision

Uncertainty in Measurement: Accuracy and Precision

Scientists typically make repeated measurements of a quantity to ensure the quality of their findings and to evaluate both the precision and the accuracy of their results. Measurements are said to be precise if they yield very similar results when repeated in the same manner. A measurement is considered accurate if it yields a result that is very close to the true or the accepted value. Precise values agree with each other; accurate values agree with a true value.

The Uncertainty Principle

The Uncertainty Principle

Werner Heisenberg considered the limits of how accurately one can measure properties of an electron or other microscopic particles. He determined that there is a fundamental limit to how accurately one can measure both a particle’s position and its momentum simultaneously. The more accurate the measurement of the momentum of a particle is known, the less accurate the position at that time is known and vice versa. This is what is now called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. He mathematically...

Propagation of Uncertainty from Systematic Error

Propagation of Uncertainty from Systematic Error

The atomic mass of an element varies due to the relative ratio of its isotopes. A sample's relative proportion of oxygen isotopes influences its average atomic mass. For instance, if we were to measure the atomic mass of oxygen from a sample, the mass would be a weighted average of the isotopic masses of oxygen in that sample. Since a single sample is not likely to perfectly reflect the true atomic mass of oxygen for all the molecules of oxygen on Earth, the mass we obtain from this particular...

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Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

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Published on: September 16, 2015

Can we be too uncertain about uncertainty responses?

¹Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program, and Living Links Center for the Advanced Study of Ape and Human Evolution, Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322 lmarino@emory.edu http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/i/people/marino.html.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences

|February 5, 2008

Summary

The study suggests that shared logical consistency, not just cognitive simplicity, explains similar behaviors across species. Declarative consciousness may be a common psychological trait in humans, monkeys, and dolphins.

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Last Updated: Jul 7, 2026

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Published on: September 16, 2015

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Area of Science:

Comparative psychology
Cognitive science
Neuroscience

Background:

Understanding consciousness requires examining its presence across diverse species.
Previous explanations for cross-species behavioral similarities often prioritized anthropocentric cognitive simplicity.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and evidence an alternative parsimonious explanation for identical responses in humans and nonhumans.
To argue for declarative consciousness as a shared psychological property across species.

Main Methods:

Comparative analysis of behavioral responses under identical conditions.
Logical consistency assessment of cognitive explanations across species.
Review of existing evidence on consciousness in humans, monkeys, and dolphins.

Main Results:

Identical responses across species are not always best explained by the simplest cognitive model.
A parsimonious explanation can arise from logical consistency in cognitive mechanisms.
Evidence supports declarative consciousness as a shared trait in humans, monkeys, and dolphins.

Conclusions:

Cross-species behavioral parallels may indicate shared underlying cognitive properties.
Declarative consciousness is proposed as a unifying psychological characteristic.
This perspective broadens the search for consciousness beyond human-centric models.