William M. Briggs

You Will No Longer Be Able To Trust Anything You See

Creating doubt was not the goal of the fine people who created the technology highlighted in the following video, which is required viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmajJTcpNk From their abstract: We present a…

Philosophy

Why Is Rape Wrong? Science Has No Answer

Rape, right or wrong? Depends on how you define rape, you might say, Very well, define it how you like. Now answer the question: right or wrong? Here is what…

Book review Philosophy Statistics

Why I’m Unconvinced By Penrose’s Entropy/Anthropic Argument

There are a number of "constants" used in physics, such as the speed of light, the Planck constant, elementary charge and so forth. Some of these constants are bare, meaning…

Statistics

Trend Models & The Inability To Discover Cause

The plot atop this post is one of an observable, the cause of which is known to be related to a variety of physical, chemical, biological, geographical, and even sociological…

Philosophy Statistics

Every Result Of Unsupervised Learning Is Correct; Or, All Learning Is Supervised

The real point I wish to make is that there is no such thing as unsupervised learning; or, stated another way, Truth exists; or, stated another way, every solution to…

Philosophy

Summary Against Modern Thought: Animal Souls Are Mortal

See the first post in this series for an explanation and guide of our tour of Summa Contra Gentiles. All posts are under the category SAMT. Previous post. Do not…

Culture

Resolved: Women’s Suffrage Caused More Harm Than Good

If your first reaction upon reading the title was "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" or "Frrrpppkwiliq boahh boahh boahh!" or some variant of "%&*&^%$##!", then you have discovered the meaning of sacrilegious. Congratulations! You…

Culture Statistics

Gallup: More Adults Identifying As LGBT(…), Which Implies Even More Will

For the purposes of full disclosure (as they say), I self-identify as a yak. Thus far I am the only known Yak-American. But once the advantages of yakitude become better…

spaceranger on Impossible LSAT Statistics QuestionFebruary 4, 2026
I usually go with "b." or "Asia" on those multiple choice ones.
Cary D Cotterman on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
Polar bears have existed for at least half a million years, and possibly as long as a million. They have…
Brian (bulaoren) on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
Dr. Briggs I was afraid I'd hijacked your subject today with my, rather dark, "Walter Lantz" cartoon. Returning to your…
Brian (bulaoren) on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
While we're on the subject of "Ursus Maritimus"; In 1987, a group of amusement denied boys decided to make an…
hudbwu on Impossible LSAT Statistics QuestionFebruary 3, 2026
> But that’s because the setup is itself weird. It contains the implicit premise that more beliefs equals better survival,…

William M. Briggs

Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So Well

Impossible LSAT Statistics Question

How Women’s Equality In Democracies Changes Voting (And Everything Else)

Class 77: Trendy Trends In Time Series

Who Still Listens To AM Radio?

Scientists Invent New Name For Models: Digital Twins

What Science Says About Making Medication Mandatory

What A Winter

FDA Goes Bayes: It Should Have Gone Probability

Class 76: That’s Not Noise. That’s Signal!

AI: The Earth Is Spinning Faster & Slower (Because “Climate Change”)

Confirmation Bias In The Minneapolis Shooting

Sports Betting Is An Excellent Way To Lose Money

Class 75: A Gentle Introduction To Time Series

The Consent Fallacy

On Laws Banning Hacking Women’s Genitals & Imposing Beliefs

Register Your Predictions For 2026!

Happy New Year!

How Did We Do In Our 2025 Predictions?

Why The Drake Equation Fails

Canada Invents New Euphemism For Doctor Killings