William M. Briggs

Stream: Will 2016 Be the Year We Approach The Great and Terrible Singularity?

Will super-intelligent computers soon spell our doom, or have futurists forgotten something fundamental? Hint: it's the latter. Go to the Stream to read the rest. The chilling news is that…

Fun Statistics

Predictions For 2016—Register Yours Today!

It's that time of year again. Time to put your reputation on the line and show us your pudding, if that is the metaphor I want. Even if it isn't,…

Fun Statistics

How’d We Do On Our 2015 Predictions?

The answer to the post title's question is: I'm not so sure. Because why? Because the predictions everybody registered were lost when I was hacked last January. Why was I…

Culture

Open Discussion: Universities Are Dead, But Still Haven’t Dropped

Today, an open discussion, with the promise of much more to come, on the astonishing amazing I-can't-believe-he-said-that article "Dear Parents: Everything You Need to Know About Your Son and Daughter's…

Philosophy

Under-determination, Quus, And Why It’s Cause That Counts (And With A Taste Of Grue)

Turns out Arthur C. Clarke was on to something (who told him?). See, scientists, via one of the NASA Rovers, found this device on Mars. It is roundish, the color…

Philosophy Statistics

Gettier Problems & Epistemic Luck Are Distractions And No Problem

Regular readers will recall I do not think so-called Gettier problems have any force in epistemology. The "problems" only crop up because people make two mistakes: forgetting the difference between…

Philosophy SAMT

Summary Against Modern Thought: What Scientific Errors Tell Us Of God

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. We're still…

Culture

This Week In Doom: Reality Now Illegal

The good news is that Yours Truly's prognosticative skills are sharper than ever. Of course this is only a relative blip in happiness. The ultimate Good News we celebrated yesterday.…

Greg Ostman on New Paper Says Flu Vax Increases Chance Of Flu: Let’s LookMay 14, 2025
All Astro physics to me but how about just take the numbers of vaxed and unvaxed then see how many…
Paul Murphy on The Nuances and Challenges of Federal Funding for Research — Guest Post by An AcademicMay 14, 2025
Wow, what is that the naive outsider's view? In reality: 1 - you don't get tenure unless your name is…
cdquarles on The Nuances and Challenges of Federal Funding for Research — Guest Post by An AcademicMay 14, 2025
It is laughable that the premise that "commercial" funding of research is corrupting, but government funding isn't. What was that…
cdquarles on Eggs and ‘PFAS-Easter’ or Selling Fear on the Day of Resurrection — Guest Post by Jaap HanekampMay 14, 2025
Bingo, SSG Briggs. List for me, in order of mass with the most mass first, all of the chemicals in…
hudbwu on Academics Call Pregnancy A DiseaseMay 13, 2025
A moment of silence for all the pain and suffering Briggs endured to bring us this comedic piece. Trully, greatest…

William M. Briggs

The Nuances and Challenges of Federal Funding for Research — Guest Post by An Academic

Eggs and ‘PFAS-Easter’ or Selling Fear on the Day of Resurrection — Guest Post by Jaap Hanekamp

Academics Call Pregnancy A Disease

Class 49: Relevance & Importance Of Evidence In Models

Miracle Or Coincidence? What Are The Chances?

Reproducibility Crises Will Be Forever With Us Until We Abandon Classical Statistics

AI Cannot Hallucinate Nor Lie

Class 48: What Is A Model?

I’m Going To Sue Scientists Who Gave Me Apoplexy Over Claims Of Climate Liability

Researchers Tell Models To Say People Will Die Without Your Money

The Sun Made To Set On The British Empire – Via Science!

Class 47: Billions Of Models!

A New Physics Arises: Irreducible by Federico Faggin Reviewed

Let Go Your Wee P! — Reader Help Requested

Class 46: Explanation & Abductive Weakness

The Educational Empire Strikes Back

Can Jinn & The Evil Eye Cause Disease?

Science: The Bigger The Hole In The Head, The More Politically Active

Class 45: The False Hope Of Falsification

New Paper Says Flu Vax Increases Chance Of Flu: Let’s Look

A Simple Argument Proving You Must Not Trust Standard Scientific Evidence