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“Curve-Fitting for Bayesians?” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 68 (2017) 689–702.
(published version) [preprint]
Abstract. Bayesians often assume, suppose, or conjecture that for any reasonable explication of the notion of simplicity a prior can be designed that will enforce a preference for hypotheses simpler in just that sense. But it is shown here that there are simplicity-driven approaches to curve-fitting problems that cannot be captured within the orthodox Bayesian framework.
Note: This is a revised version. The originally posted version of this paper featured an appendix concerning the Bayesian automatic Ockham's razor. The argument of the appendix involved a fallacy that was both embarrassing and pointless. The material on the automatic razor is excised here. A corrected version will forms a free-standing paper.
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