Words and Phrases that Predict Skeptical vs. Non-skeptical Content
The following metrics are from the logistic regression classifier's performance on the test set:
| Class | Precision | Recall | F1-Score | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-skeptical | 0.839 | 0.748 | 0.791 | 445 |
| Skeptical | 0.527 | 0.661 | 0.587 | 189 |
| Overall Accuracy | 0.722 | 634 | ||
These words and phrases are most strongly associated with skeptical content in Pausanias.
| Word/Phrase | English | Coefficient | Skeptical Count | Non-skeptical Count | p-value | q-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| γε | at least | 2.8321 | 136 | 125 | 6.96e-18 | 6.96e-15 |
| ὅτι | that; because | 2.4808 | 117 | 138 | 1.87e-10 | 3.11e-08 |
| οὐκ | not | 2.4285 | 243 | 331 | 1.88e-16 | 9.41e-14 |
| γενέσθαι | to become | 2.1120 | 123 | 188 | 3.22e-06 | 0.00017 |
| εἰ | if | 2.0801 | 93 | 78 | 7.52e-14 | 2.51e-11 |
| εἴτε | whether | 2.0539 | 16 | 3 | 4.95e-07 | 3.09e-05 |
| λόγον | word | 1.9816 | 54 | 30 | 2.13e-12 | 4.39e-10 |
| τισ | someone, anyone; a certain (one) | 1.9251 | 64 | 62 | 3.27e-08 | 2.98e-06 |
| ἔπη | words | 1.9133 | 48 | 23 | 2.19e-12 | 4.39e-10 |
| εἰ δὲ | but if | 1.7754 | 33 | 13 | 5.39e-10 | 7.71e-08 |
| οὐχ | not | 1.7238 | 67 | 85 | 1.33e-05 | 0.000494 |
| ὡσ | as; like; how; that; when | 1.6887 | 283 | 629 | 0.0146 | 0.117 |
| ὅμηροσ | Homer | 1.5802 | 45 | 39 | 5.65e-07 | 3.32e-05 |
| οὐδέν | nothing | 1.5779 | 39 | 46 | 0.000364 | 0.00809 |
| οὐ | not | 1.4693 | 278 | 539 | 9.12e-06 | 0.00038 |
| λόγοσ | word; speech; account; reason; argument | 1.4523 | 57 | 54 | 1.19e-07 | 8.53e-06 |
| τὸν δὲ | but him | 1.4264 | 57 | 73 | 7.66e-05 | 0.00232 |
| ἄν | would; might; could; -ever (as in whoever/whenever) | 1.4045 | 33 | 18 | 3.75e-08 | 3.13e-06 |
| δὴ | indeed | 1.3979 | 280 | 578 | 0.000391 | 0.00849 |
| ὄνομα | name | 1.3956 | 128 | 187 | 3.11e-07 | 2.07e-05 |
| μνῆμα | memorial, monument (especially a tomb) | 1.3918 | 50 | 70 | 0.00101 | 0.0169 |
| ἔχειν | to have | 1.3801 | 32 | 34 | 0.000359 | 0.00809 |
| παῖδα | child | 1.3771 | 81 | 123 | 0.00018 | 0.00451 |
| οὐδὲν | nothing | 1.3259 | 59 | 80 | 0.00018 | 0.00451 |
| οὔ | not | 1.2676 | 22 | 13 | 1.55e-05 | 0.000536 |
| τὸ ὄνομα | the name | 1.2667 | 69 | 86 | 6.33e-06 | 0.000301 |
| γυναῖκα | woman; wife | 1.2510 | 43 | 42 | 7.99e-06 | 0.000347 |
| οἱ | the (masculine plural) | 1.2175 | 414 | 997 | 0.118 | 0.379 |
| ἐστὶν | is | 1.2130 | 137 | 286 | 0.0309 | 0.189 |
| εἴη | may it be; let it be | 1.1855 | 36 | 36 | 6.41e-05 | 0.002 |
These words and phrases are most strongly associated with non-skeptical content in Pausanias.
| Word/Phrase | English | Coefficient | Skeptical Count | Non-skeptical Count | p-value | q-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἅτε | since, because, seeing that | -1.4785 | 27 | 122 | 0.0043 | 0.0504 |
| δύο | two | -1.4600 | 27 | 120 | 0.00577 | 0.0589 |
| τὸ δὲ | but the | -1.3422 | 77 | 246 | 0.078 | 0.301 |
| σφισι | to them | -1.3023 | 34 | 125 | 0.0521 | 0.244 |
| ἐπὶ τὴν | to the | -1.2988 | 12 | 58 | 0.0325 | 0.191 |
| τότε δὲ | and then | -1.2982 | 5 | 58 | 6.02e-05 | 0.00194 |
| κεῖται | lies; is situated | -1.2635 | 7 | 62 | 0.000247 | 0.00602 |
| λακεδαιμονίων | of the Spartans | -1.2198 | 29 | 143 | 0.000471 | 0.00968 |
| μετὰ | with, among (with genitive); after (with accusative) | -1.1793 | 69 | 259 | 0.0025 | 0.0336 |
| θαλάσσηι | to/for the sea | -1.1533 | 10 | 65 | 0.00217 | 0.0297 |
| καὶ | and | -1.1520 | 861 | 2230 | 0.464 | 0.733 |
| ἐκ τῶν | from the | -1.1486 | 13 | 63 | 0.0252 | 0.168 |
| ὡσ δὲ | and when | -1.1222 | 20 | 96 | 0.00607 | 0.0613 |
| ἀνέθηκεν | he/she dedicated | -1.1183 | 4 | 30 | 0.0343 | 0.196 |
| ὅπλα | weapons | -1.1144 | 3 | 32 | 0.00753 | 0.071 |
| μεσσηνίουσ | Messenians | -1.0965 | 11 | 48 | 0.0942 | 0.339 |
| τὴν μὲν | the ... on the one hand | -1.0919 | 6 | 36 | 0.0339 | 0.196 |
| χώραν | land | -1.0400 | 20 | 82 | 0.0482 | 0.244 |
| καὶ ἄγαλμα | and a statue | -1.0182 | 12 | 70 | 0.00375 | 0.0462 |
| τούτωι | to this | -1.0178 | 44 | 129 | 0.444 | 0.712 |
| ἐπὶ θαλάσσηι | on the sea | -1.0153 | 3 | 39 | 0.00147 | 0.0222 |
| ἐκ | out of; from | -0.9973 | 199 | 641 | 0.00118 | 0.0187 |
| τῶν | of the | -0.9881 | 431 | 1165 | 0.233 | 0.533 |
| αὖθισ | again | -0.9860 | 36 | 142 | 0.0148 | 0.117 |
| τούτωι τῶι | to this | -0.9824 | 6 | 29 | 0.133 | 0.399 |
| βασιλεὺσ | king | -0.9800 | 7 | 54 | 0.00162 | 0.0238 |
| ἀχαιῶν | of the Achaeans | -0.9705 | 15 | 99 | 0.000118 | 0.00336 |
| τοῖσ δὲ | but to them | -0.9619 | 7 | 54 | 0.00162 | 0.0238 |
| ἀρχήν | at first | -0.9578 | 11 | 45 | 0.148 | 0.426 |
| ἐπεὶ δὲ | but when | -0.9192 | 5 | 28 | 0.0802 | 0.306 |
This reduced model keeps only the words or phrases with q-value below 0.1, then turns them into a simple checklist.
Start at -0.99 points. If one of the items below appears at least once, add its points once. If the final score ends above 0, classify the text as Skeptical. That is the same as saying the listed word-points must add up past +0.99.
Full logistic model: 72.2% | Simplified checklist: 74.9% | Always guess Non-skeptical: 70.2%
This shorter model uses 119 statistically strong vocabulary items.
These confusion matrices show which texts each approach gets right and where it makes false alarms or misses.
| Predicted | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-skeptical | Skeptical | ||
| Actual | Non-skeptical | 333 | 112 |
| Skeptical | 64 | 125 | |
| Predicted | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-skeptical | Skeptical | ||
| Actual | Non-skeptical | 335 | 110 |
| Skeptical | 49 | 140 | |
| Predicted | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-skeptical | Skeptical | ||
| Actual | Non-skeptical | 445 | 0 |
| Skeptical | 189 | 0 | |
| Word/Phrase | English | Points If Seen | Pushes Toward | q-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἴτε | whether | +2.82 | Skeptical | 3.09e-05 |
| μὴν | indeed; surely | +1.73 | Skeptical | 1.1e-06 |
| εἰ δὲ | but if | +1.71 | Skeptical | 7.71e-08 |
| ἀριστερᾶι | with the left hand | -1.69 | Non-skeptical | 0.0253 |
| ἐπὶ θαλάσσηι | on the sea | -1.67 | Non-skeptical | 0.0222 |
| οὔ | not | +1.63 | Skeptical | 0.000536 |
| ἔπη | words | +1.52 | Skeptical | 4.39e-10 |
| ἐν ἀριστερᾶι | on the left hand | +1.46 | Skeptical | 0.0474 |
| κεῖται | lies; is situated | -1.40 | Non-skeptical | 0.00602 |
| τότε δὲ | and then | -1.38 | Non-skeptical | 0.00194 |
| εἰρημένον | said | +1.36 | Skeptical | 0.011 |
| ὅπλα | weapons | -1.30 | Non-skeptical | 0.071 |
| νῖκαι | victories | -1.23 | Non-skeptical | 0.0716 |
| ἑκατόν | one hundred | -1.10 | Non-skeptical | 0.0667 |
| θησέα | Theseus | +1.09 | Skeptical | 0.00796 |
| γίνεται | it happens | -1.06 | Non-skeptical | 0.0983 |
| τελευτὴν | death | +1.06 | Skeptical | 0.0141 |
| καὶ ἐκ | and from | -1.05 | Non-skeptical | 0.0177 |
| καὶ ἄγαλμα | and a statue | -1.01 | Non-skeptical | 0.0462 |
| τοῖσ δὲ | but to them | -1.01 | Non-skeptical | 0.0238 |
| πρῶτα | first | -1.01 | Non-skeptical | 0.0974 |
| λόγον | word | +0.99 | Skeptical | 4.39e-10 |
| ἔφη | he/she said | +0.99 | Skeptical | 0.00731 |
| ποιῆσαι | to make; to do | +0.98 | Skeptical | 0.0664 |
| τοῦ ἐν | of the one in | +0.97 | Skeptical | 0.0546 |
| οὐ μὴν | however | -0.95 | Non-skeptical | 8.78e-07 |
| γε | at least | +0.94 | Skeptical | 6.96e-15 |
| οὐδέν | nothing | +0.85 | Skeptical | 0.00809 |
| φησὶν | he/she says | +0.85 | Skeptical | 0.000705 |
| τισ | someone, anyone; a certain (one) | +0.84 | Skeptical | 2.98e-06 |
| ἅτε | since, because, seeing that | -0.83 | Non-skeptical | 0.0504 |
| βασιλεὺσ | king | -0.81 | Non-skeptical | 0.0238 |
| ὁδὸσ | road; way | -0.80 | Non-skeptical | 0.0983 |
| αὑτοῦ | of himself | +0.79 | Skeptical | 0.0699 |
| μακεδόνων | of the Macedonians | -0.79 | Non-skeptical | 0.0546 |
| ἔπεσιν | with words | +0.78 | Skeptical | 0.00339 |
| μνῆμα | memorial, monument (especially a tomb) | +0.77 | Skeptical | 0.0169 |
| δὲ πρὸσ | but toward | -0.77 | Non-skeptical | 0.0974 |
| ὅτι | that; because | +0.76 | Skeptical | 3.11e-08 |
| ἴσμεν | we know | +0.70 | Skeptical | 0.00986 |
| δύο | two | -0.68 | Non-skeptical | 0.0589 |
| ἀχαιοῖσ | for the Achaeans | -0.67 | Non-skeptical | 0.056 |
| ἔχειν | to have | +0.65 | Skeptical | 0.00809 |
| οὐχ | not | +0.64 | Skeptical | 0.000494 |
| ἀφʼ | from | +0.63 | Skeptical | 0.0887 |
| γυναῖκα | woman; wife | +0.61 | Skeptical | 0.000347 |
| λόγοσ | word; speech; account; reason; argument | +0.59 | Skeptical | 8.53e-06 |
| ἄν | would; might; could; -ever (as in whoever/whenever) | +0.58 | Skeptical | 3.13e-06 |
| ἐγένοντο | they happened | -0.58 | Non-skeptical | 0.0546 |
| οὐκ | not | +0.55 | Skeptical | 9.41e-14 |
| εἰρημένα | what has been said | +0.55 | Skeptical | 0.00968 |
| εἴη | may it be; let it be | +0.55 | Skeptical | 0.002 |
| τὸν δὲ | but him | +0.54 | Skeptical | 0.00232 |
| οὐδένα | no one | +0.52 | Skeptical | 0.0364 |
| ἀναθεῖναι | to dedicate | +0.50 | Skeptical | 0.0852 |
| ὅμηροσ | Homer | +0.50 | Skeptical | 3.32e-05 |
| οὐδὲν | nothing | +0.49 | Skeptical | 0.00451 |
| αἱ | the | -0.48 | Non-skeptical | 0.0576 |
| ἄλλο | another | +0.47 | Skeptical | 0.0855 |
| θαλάσσηι | to/for the sea | -0.47 | Non-skeptical | 0.0297 |
| γενέσθαι | to become | +0.47 | Skeptical | 0.00017 |
| λακεδαιμονίων | of the Spartans | -0.46 | Non-skeptical | 0.00968 |
| ὡσ δὲ | and when | -0.46 | Non-skeptical | 0.0613 |
| πόλεων | of cities | -0.46 | Non-skeptical | 0.0714 |
| ἄν τισ | if someone | +0.45 | Skeptical | 6.29e-06 |
| εἰ | if | +0.45 | Skeptical | 2.51e-11 |
| παῖδα | child | +0.45 | Skeptical | 0.00451 |
| ἀρχαῖον | ancient | +0.44 | Skeptical | 0.0336 |
| λακεδαιμονίοισ | to the Lacedaemonians | -0.43 | Non-skeptical | 0.0532 |
| ἄλλωσ | otherwise | +0.41 | Skeptical | 0.0161 |
| ἄνδρα | man | +0.40 | Skeptical | 0.0187 |
| δὴ | indeed | +0.38 | Skeptical | 0.00849 |
| μάχηι | in battle | -0.37 | Non-skeptical | 0.0983 |
| θυγατέρα | daughter | +0.36 | Skeptical | 0.00893 |
| ὁμήρου | of Homer | +0.35 | Skeptical | 0.000346 |
| μὲν τοῦ | on the one hand, of the | +0.34 | Skeptical | 0.0729 |
| ὄνομα | name | +0.34 | Skeptical | 2.07e-05 |
| τὰ ἐσ | the matters concerning | +0.33 | Skeptical | 0.00301 |
| ἐποίησεν | he made | +0.33 | Skeptical | 0.0664 |
| μετὰ δὲ | and after | -0.32 | Non-skeptical | 0.0405 |
| ὅτωι | to whomever | +0.32 | Skeptical | 0.0297 |
| ἀνθρώποισ | to/for people | +0.30 | Skeptical | 0.056 |
| καὶ οὐχ | and not | +0.30 | Skeptical | 0.0397 |
| ἱερὸν | temple; sanctuary | -0.29 | Non-skeptical | 0.0504 |
| καὶ ὡσ | and as | +0.29 | Skeptical | 0.0855 |
| τὰ ἔπη | the verses | -0.27 | Non-skeptical | 4.59e-05 |
| τὸ ὄνομα | the name | +0.27 | Skeptical | 0.000301 |
| ἐν τοῖσ | in the | +0.26 | Skeptical | 0.0457 |
| ἐπεὶ | since | +0.25 | Skeptical | 0.00378 |
| αὐτὸν | him | +0.25 | Skeptical | 0.0222 |
| ἀχαιῶν | of the Achaeans | -0.24 | Non-skeptical | 0.00336 |
| τινα | someone; anyone; a certain person; or (neuter plural) some things; as a question: whom? / what things? | +0.21 | Skeptical | 0.0795 |
| δὲ ἐκ | but from | -0.21 | Non-skeptical | 0.0206 |
| γὰρ δὴ | for indeed | +0.21 | Skeptical | 0.0164 |
| ὄντα | being; things that are (beings) | +0.20 | Skeptical | 0.000388 |
| δʼ | but; and | +0.20 | Skeptical | 0.000219 |
| ἐκ | out of; from | -0.19 | Non-skeptical | 0.0187 |
| οἱ λακεδαιμόνιοι | the Lacedaemonians | -0.19 | Non-skeptical | 0.0504 |
| καὶ οὐ | and not | +0.18 | Skeptical | 0.0109 |
| τὸ ἀρχαῖον | in ancient times | +0.18 | Skeptical | 0.0709 |
| τότε | then; at that time | -0.18 | Non-skeptical | 0.0488 |
| οὖν | therefore | +0.17 | Skeptical | 0.00378 |
| ἀλλʼ | but | -0.17 | Non-skeptical | 0.0625 |
| ὅστισ | whoever | +0.15 | Skeptical | 0.0116 |
| οὐ | not | +0.14 | Skeptical | 0.00038 |
| μετὰ | with, among (with genitive); after (with accusative) | -0.13 | Non-skeptical | 0.0336 |
| γὰρ | for | +0.12 | Skeptical | 0.00968 |
| τι | something | +0.10 | Skeptical | 0.0282 |
| μέν | on the one hand | +0.10 | Skeptical | 0.0546 |
| hom | same; common | +0.09 | Skeptical | 0.000504 |
| τε | and | -0.09 | Non-skeptical | 0.00993 |
| τὸν | the | +0.07 | Skeptical | 0.0279 |
| οὐκ ἔστιν | there is not | -0.04 | Non-skeptical | 0.0424 |
| φησιν | he/she says | +0.03 | Skeptical | 0.0546 |
| οὐδὲ | nor | +0.02 | Skeptical | 0.000445 |
| λακεδαιμόνιοι | Lacedaemonians | -0.02 | Non-skeptical | 0.0109 |
| ἂν | a modal particle indicating potentiality, often rendered "would" or "might"; with relatives/temporals it adds "-ever" (e.g., "whoever," "whenever") | +0.02 | Skeptical | 1.93e-06 |
| ἰόντι | to/for the one going | -0.01 | Non-skeptical | 0.0504 |
| δὲ οὐκ | but not | -0.00 | Non-skeptical | 0.0494 |