Using network theory to analyze Bach’s music

Johann Sebastian Bach; credit Wikimedia

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Bach as “mathematician”

Johan Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) regularly garners the top spot in listings of the greatest Western classical composers, typically followed by Mozart and Beethoven. Certainly in terms of sheer volume of compositions, Bach reigns supreme. The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV) catalogue lists 1128 compositions, from short solo pieces to the magnificent Mass in B Minor (BWV 232) and Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), far more than any other classical composer. Further, Bach’s clever, syncopated style led the way to twentieth century musical innovations, notably jazz.

There does seem to be a

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February 18th, 2024 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed

Overcoming experimenter bias in scientific research

History of measurements of the speed of light; from Henrion and Fischloff, “Assessing uncertainty in physical constants,” American Journal of Physics, September 1986

Reproducibility in modern science

Reproducibility has emerged as a major issue in numerous fields of scientific research, ranging from psychology, sociology, economics and finance to biomedicine, scientific computing and physics. Many of these difficulties arise from experimenter bias (also known as “selection bias”): consciously or unconsciously excluding, ignoring or adjusting certain data that do not seem to be in agreement with one’s preconceived hypothesis; or devising statistical tests post-hoc, namely AFTER data has already been

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February 3rd, 2024 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed