To Bayes or not to Bayes ….

A goal that I have set for myself as Editor is to add some new features to our standard fare of erudite technical articles. There are always times when those who do science need to pause and reflect about the broader implications of what they do. It occurred to me that an occasional column by writers who want to probe into such matters might interest a large cross-section of our readers. Drs. John Scales and Roel Snieder of the Colorado School of Mines and Utrecht University have written a fascinating piece on a geophysical inversion methodology associated with the name of the famous eighteenth century mathematician and clergyman Thomas Bayes. I hope that you will enjoy their short essay. I would also like to know how you, the readers, feel about columns of this kind, and would welcome your feedback, preferably by e-mail to [email protected]. I also encourage you to send me your specific comments about the present essay.