William M. Briggs

I don't often discuss cheating in science, because the conclusion "It's bad, don't do it" doesn't need explication. Even those cheating are clever enough to swear to the conclusion's truth.…

My heart soared like a hawk by the hundreds of supportive comments I got on Twitter from last week's story about two academics who want government to genetically modify ticks…

The title today is identical to the peer-reviewed paper of the same name in Theory and Society by BVE Hyde. Hyde begins: "This study begins by outlining the transparency paradox:…

A guy correctly "sees" 4 cards out of 52. A wee P hypothesis test says he has psychic powers. Does he? We only begin this difficult question today. Video https://youtu.be/_mgOCfEkIWQ…

What do you make of this headline? "Female pilots perform better under pressure, study finds". Story opens thusly: Female pilots may outperform their male counterparts in high-pressure flight situations, according…

A stupid man will make stupid mistakes. He will show up on TV being escorted into the back of a police cruiser. An intelligent man will make intelligent mistakes. He…

"Death is not simply a biological fact," tweeted Sandeep Jauhar, "but it's also a social choice." Death has become a social choice? He continues: "To increase the number of donor…

A lady says she has the ability to identify whether tea or milk is poured in a cup first. What does "have the ability mean?" and why is it so…