William M. Briggs

On The Cubs’ & Trump’s Victories, Nate Silver’s Predictions & All That

https://twitter.com/ThaRightStuff/status/794045050753794048 Some crow is presumably being eaten by Nate Silver and the folks at FiveThirtyEight.com this fine morning. I recommend they bake it into a pie (which I learnt from…

Culture

No Matter Who Wins, We’re Doomed — WMBriggs Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7T0XUOVS2g Download MP3. Note: This was written and recorded last Wednesday, before DickiLeaks et alia, but due to other events I had to delay posting it until today. The return…

Culture

What Russia Wants, Part II — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Editor's note: This is Part Final of a two-part series. Read Part I. So let me ask you; What is the biggest mountain in Russia? Mt. Athos, of course. Wait.…

Book review Statistics

A Deep Philosophical Account Of Probability

Another review of Uncertainty: The Soul of Modeling, Probability & Statistics, this one taken from an Amazon customer. It was 7 or 8 years ago when I was sitting in…

Culture Statistics

Media Lying With Polls? Is The Pope…Er…Ah, Never Mind

Today's post is at The Stream: Be Skeptical of the Polls: Is the media lying to boost Hillary? Note: I'm putting the Summary Against Modern Thought Sunday series on hiatus…

Philosophy Statistics

Why Is It Okay To Eat Pigs And Not Dogs? Science Does Not Have The Answer

Opening sentence of the abstract in the peer-reviewed paper "When Meat Gets Personal, Animals' Minds Matter Less: Motivated Use of Intelligence Information in Judgments of Moral Standing" in Social Psychological…

Statistics

One World Without Borders Would Lead To Tyranny

Hillary, in her own words, said "My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders". She said it, but it's not clear if she believes it.…

Culture

Stream: Satanism, Child Torture, Mind Control — What Is On Hollywood’s Mind?

Today's post is at the Stream: Satanism, Child Torture, Mind Control -- What Is On Hollywood's Mind? Who's up for some child torture? No, seriously. Wouldn't strapping a boy into…

Uncle Mike on Blessed Memorial Day; No Class; See You WednesdayMay 21, 2026
Please enjoy your well-earned respite. Warmth is indeed a boon and blessing -- it's in the eighties here today and…
Cary D Cotterman on Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”May 20, 2026
There are clear photographs of just about any phenomenon imaginable, regardless of how fast, distant, small, or ephemeral it may…
Steve on Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”May 20, 2026
Briggs, you fool! You should know by now that extraterrestrials have image blurring technology. And before you ask, yes, they…
McChuck on Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”May 20, 2026
"Tomorrow Tomorrow never comes What kind of a fool Do they take me for? Tomorrow A resting place for bums…
Philip Rogan on Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”May 20, 2026
All I can say after reading the linked article is that I'm glad I'm not a professional academic philosopher.

William M. Briggs

Blessed Memorial Day; No Class; See You Wednesday

Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”

Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize Ourselves

Class 89: The Measure Most Modelers Forget: Skill Examples

The Shocking Conclusion of the HR Trilemma!

The HR Trilemma: Which Door Decides Your Fate?

Capital Punishment Deters Crime More Than The Death Penalty

How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain Power

Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI Pachinko

Class 88: The Most Neglected Concept: Skill

The Red-Blue Button Dilemma & Its Surprising Answer

UFO Reports About To Blast Off!

Class 87: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Examples

Noticing Differences Between Races Does Not Pay

What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?

Class 86: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Theory

How A Miracle Turns Mundane

Contest Winner Announced!

Trump’s Last Stand: Mea Culpa, Redux — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Class 85: Proper Scores of Model Goodness

Proof!

Blessed Memorial Day; No Class; See You Wednesday

Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”

On The Cubs’ & Trump’s Victories, Nate Silver’s Predictions & All That

No Matter Who Wins, We’re Doomed — WMBriggs Podcast

What Russia Wants, Part II — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

A Deep Philosophical Account Of Probability

Media Lying With Polls? Is The Pope…Er…Ah, Never Mind

Why Is It Okay To Eat Pigs And Not Dogs? Science Does Not Have The Answer

One World Without Borders Would Lead To Tyranny

Stream: Satanism, Child Torture, Mind Control — What Is On Hollywood’s Mind?

There Is No Culture Without Inequality: Stove 1

Impose Your Beliefs Before They Impose Theirs

Telekinesis: Ideas In Our Reenchantment & Rectification

The Physics Of Blessings: Ideas In Our Reenchantment & Rectification