16 Quotes by Judea Pearl

With Bayesian networks, we had taught machines to think in shades of grey, and this was an important step toward humanlike thinking. But we still couldn't teach machines to understand causes and effects. We couldn't explain to a computer why turning the dial of a barometer won't cause rain.... Without the ability to envision alternate realities and contrast them with the currently existing reality, a machine...cannot answer the most basic question that makes us human: "Why?

skepticism has its place. Statisticians are paid to be skeptics; they are the conscience of science.

Fighting for the acceptance of Bayesian networks in AI was a picnic compared with the fight I had to wage for causal diagrams [in the stormy waters of statistics].

[T]he cultural shocks that emanate from new scientific findings are eventually settled by cultural realignments that accommodate those findings—not by concealment. A prerequisite for this realignment is that we sort out the science from the culture before opinions become inflamed.

Scientists should seek shielded mediators whenever they face incurable confounders.

We are honored to have such a varied and celebrated group of artists joining Music Days and using the power of music to promote cross-cultural understanding, ... Danny was a talented musician who always connected people through words and music; he truly lived the Music Days theme of 'Harmony for Humanity.'

We are thrilled to have Russell Simmons join our global rhapsody of talents and visions. In addition to being a master musician and a champion of the underdog, Russell is also an important inter-ethnic dialogue maker- a perfect match with the mission of Music Days.

Training one student in quality and unbiased reporting is tantamount to enlightening thousands and thousands of future readers.

He's not ready, ... but I hope dialogue will lead to more information exchange because Pakistanis don't know that Israel is important to Jews or even what Zionism is.