Posted inStatistics
Can Telomeres Predict How Long You Will Live?
No, they can't. Not exactly, and perhaps not with sufficient precision to be useful to you. But there is a new company called Life Length who will sell you, for…
Posted inFun
Some more reasons why I should be in charge
I want to mourn, too The man who can rightly be called the Father of Statistics, Ronald Aylmer Fisher, while an incredibly bright man, showed that all of us are…
Posted inStatistics
Why probability isn’t relative frequency
(This is a modified excerpt from my forthcoming---he said hopefully---book, on the subject of why probability cannot be relative frequency. This is to be paired with the essay on why…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Why probability isn’t relative frequency: redux
(Pretend, if you have, that you haven't read my first weak attempt. I'm still working on this, but this gives you the rough idea, and I didn't want to leave…
Posted inFun Philosophy
Bad news for Bonobo
It turns out---shockingly, to some correct-thinking academics---that the bonobo ape is just as bloodthirsty as the rest of the higher primates. Yes, it's true. Bonobos, a sex- and peace-loving species…
TV…no, wait…rain causes autism
A few months ago we looked at a paper that purported to show that watching TV causes autism. Well, that paper has finally been peer reviewed, and therefore published. It's…
Posted inCulture Fun Philosophy
What scientific or technological advance would you most like to see in your lifetime?
The real geeks among us long for synthohol. Only Class A nerds know, or admit to knowing, what it is, too. But I have to tell you, your potential partner's…
Posted inCulture
The Noble Savage Altruistic Warrior
There is a charming myth among idealists that before industrialization and its accoutrements, such as patriarchy and pollution, mankind lived an entirely peaceful existence. That is, there was no war.…
