William M. Briggs

Briggs note: Since my take is that the government ought to get out of science grants altogether, I owe it to you to provide an insider's view (since I am…

Briggs note: The point Jaap makes that measurability does not equate to toxicity, i.e. causal, needs emphasizing. It's related to how you go to the doctor and some measure is,…

The peer-reviewed paper is "Is pregnancy a disease? A normative approach" by Ann Smajdor and Joona Räsänen in BMJ's Journal of Medical Ethics. (Incidentally, for new readers, I always emphasize…

First basics of models and the Deadly Sin. Also the superiority of relevance over the misleading idea of independence. WARNING for those reading the email version! The text below might…

Here is an anecdote---one of several in a theme, they say---about the actor Jim Caviezel during the filming of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: This was especially evident…

The scientist stood before them.He announced his result with glee.It sounds impossible?Can you say it's not bull?It's true 'cause my P is wee! Until classical statistics, with its focus on…

I have admitted many times, grudgingly, beginning long ago, that computer science guys are brilliant at marketing. That adjective is a woeful understatement. Genius, though so overused to be almost…

This is only a sketch of what's to come. In essence, today we begin the Class anew. Everything is about to get much harder, or much easier, depending on your…