Erin Welsh

That answer might not be the same for everyone.

An enlightening blend of philosophical musings, political commentary, statistical exploration, and personal reflection, Proof is a fascinating read, particularly as this unceasing flood of information, both good and bad, shows no sign of stopping.

Let's take a quick break and then get into things.

Professor Kaczorski, thank you so much for joining me today.

I am thrilled to talk with you about your latest book, Proof, The Art and Science of Certainty.

And before we dig into the various forms of proof and how we determine a threshold for proof or what different types of proof exist for certain situations, I want to start at the very beginning.

What is proof?

Is there a standard definition?

Thinking about the difference between proof and certainty and truth, like what is the relationship between those concepts?

When it comes to public health and medicine, there's a lot more pressing need to make decisions.

And yet this decision is often dragged out for long periods of time.

And sometimes that is at the urging of.

you know, someone who has incentive to drag out a decision.

So one of the examples that you talk about is Austin Bradford Hill, who is talking about this relationship between cigarettes and lung cancer and saying, oh, we have some evidence, and there's still a lot of skepticism, but we have enough to make a decision.

We cannot use uncertainty as an excuse for inaction.

Do you feel like that, like we've ever truly learned that as a society, or has it been...

players like the tobacco industry saying, oh no, this uncertainty, we need to push for more and more and more evidence.

Let's take a short break.

And when we get back, there's still so much to discuss.

Welcome back, everyone.