Search Results for “random chance”

Reader Question: Probability is not real in the sense that real life things are real

Anon writes: Mr. Briggs, I am trying to understand the statement in the title. It [probability] is a measure of uncertainty. It is a measure of what we know or…

Philosophy Statistics

Dear Quacks & Experts: Your Loss Function Is Not Our Loss Function

Note to the colleague who wrote me. I lost your email! You asked excellent questions about the post Classical Statistics Has Outlived Its Usefulness: Here’s The Fix, which I meant…

Philosophy Statistics

Classical Statistics Has Outlived Its Usefulness: Here’s The Fix

A PDF of this article may be downloaded here. This article is a precis of Uncertainty. Opening Act Patient walks into the doctor and says, "Doc, I saw that new…

Philosophy

Sphere Eversion, Free Will & Infinite Powers

Can a sphere be turned inside out, such that the outside becomes the inside, and vice versa, without creasing or tearing or poking a hole in the sphere? Obviously not.…

Philosophy Statistics

Uncertainty Discussed At Vox Popoli

Vox Day kindly reprinted the review of Uncertainty by Jayne at the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Vox also has a copy of the book himself and there may…

Philosophy

Real Philosophy Is Science — Guest Post by Old David

Editor's note: Old David, a.k.a. David Marwick from Australia, is familiar from the comment pages, and I thought it would be fun if he were on the receiving end of…

Culture Philosophy

Do I Exist?(Does Russia) Part II — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Read Part I here. So God has already acted. There is no potentiality left in Him, as Aquinas would say. After all, He's already done everything. There's nothing left to…

Philosophy Statistics

Randomness And The “Null” Hypothesis

Last week of teaching! Randomness is not a cause. Neither is chance. It is always a mistake to say things like "explainable by chance", "random change", "the differences are random",…

Neil Upton on Don’t Lose Sleep Over Research On “Climate Change” & Sleep ApneaJuly 10, 2025
some time ago it was said that to ensure a research grant the proposal should make reference to global boiling.…
Uncle Mike on Don’t Lose Sleep Over Research On “Climate Change” & Sleep ApneaJuly 9, 2025
The Climate Catastrophe paradigm is dead. RIP. The old adherents are howling at the moon, but Science has moved on.…
Cloudbuster on Don’t Lose Sleep Over Research On “Climate Change” & Sleep ApneaJuly 9, 2025
"New York and Ohio, which are cool" Please explain to my sweat glands how Ohio is cool so I shouldn't…
Cary Cotterman on What’s Wrong With The Golf Course Parkinson’s StudyJuly 8, 2025
There is a significant correlation between golf and the wearing of ugly pants.
Rudolph Harrier on What’s Wrong With The Golf Course Parkinson’s StudyJuly 8, 2025
Yeah, the second I heard "Olmstead County" my mind went to the Mayo Clinic too. Both the Mayo Clinic proper…