We use the US legal standard for evaluating evidence
How We Evaluate Evidence edit
Introduction: "a brick is not a wall". [TBD]
Evidence is not the same as proof edit
TBD.
Evidence can be relevant or irrelevant edit
Evidence is relevant if it tends to make the issue at hand more or less likely to be true.
Evidence can be strong or weak edit
TBD.
There are many kinds of evidence, some stronger than others edit
TBD.
All relevant evidence (whether strong or weak) is considered edit
- The strongest relevant evidence should be given the most weight.
- Relevance depends on the thing we're trying to prove. For example:
- An Amazon breakstick review by a pitbull owner can be relevant to show that responsible pitbull owners carry breaksticks.
- However, that same review will probably not be relevant to the trope of Mistaken Identity.