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triangulation explanation

📖 Definitions

"The triangulation metaphor is meant to capture the way that individuals from different perspectives might nevertheless use their incomplete data to identify genuine features of the world." (McBrayer 2024, 615)

💡 Examples

  • "If you have location data from a singular mobile phone tower, at most you will know whether a call was placed within the coverage range of that one tower. But if you have location data from three separate towers, you can use that data to triangulate the location of a mobile phone by measuring the time lag of signals to each of the various towers. That kind of triangulation can provide a relatively precise location." (McBrayer 2024, 615)

🔗 Relations

📚 References

  • McBrayer, Justin P. 2024. “The Epistemic Benefits of Ideological Diversity.” Acta Analytica 39:611–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12136-023-00582-z.