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hedging

mia0815

Senior Member
Taiwanese
So uneasily does this idea sit that scientists keep repeating the studies, refining and spinning the methodology, desperately gunning for a different outcome, like a schoolboy repeatedly tossing a coin, then backtracking after each throw: ‘Best of three . . . no, no, best of five . . .’ After spinning it every which way, the most life- affirming answer researchers have managed to come up with to the question of whether having children makes people happy is a ‘it depends on the person’...

The Pursuit of Happiness by Ruth Whippman

What does 'hedging' in this context mean?
Does it mean avoiding risks?
Please help. Thank you.
It means "avoiding making a definite yes/no statement".

The studies presumably showed that having children didn't actually make most people happier in the long run.
So uneasily does this idea sit that scientists keep repeating the studies, refining and spinning the methodology, desperately gunning for a different outcome, like a schoolboy repeatedly tossing a coin, then backtracking after each throw: ‘Best of three . . . no, no, best of five . . .’ After spinning it every which way, the most life- affirming answer researchers have managed to come up with to the question of whether having children makes people happy is a ‘it depends on the person’...

The Pursuit of Happiness by Ruth Whippman

What does 'hedging' in this context mean?
Does it mean avoiding risks?
Please help. Thank you.
No, it's using meaning 7. in the WR dictionary - to refuse to answer a question directly.

It's saying that the researchers' answer to the question isn't really a proper answer at all.
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