Quote:
Originally Posted by pressld2  ......... No study has ever "disproved" a link between MMR and autism. Numerous studies have failed to find a link but that is emphatically NOT the same as disproving a link.
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Dave P. |
Sorry, let's get back to this 'disproving' business.
It is impossible to disprove a negative - although the proposition may be so unlikely as to be ignored anyway.
However, most scientific analysis will start off by testing the
null hypothesis.
i.e. can we demonstrate/detect a difference between two sets of results/individuals/whatever which have been treated differently. If the two sets do
not differ then the null hypothesis has
not been disproved - not the same as saying that it has been proved but, in effect, showing that there is nothing to test/investigate further.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid,
it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
John Stuart Mill