William M. Briggs

Writer Says Discovery Of Extraterrestrial Life Would Be Bad News For God. God Says Nope

The danger of writing about that in which you are ignorant is that you're bound to look foolish. Let's see an example. Jeff Schweitzer, who bills himself as a scientist…

Philosophy Statistics

The Crisis Of Evidence: Why Probability And Statistics Cannot Discover Cause. New Paper

Cancer of the albondigas is horrifyingly under-diagnosed. See your doctor today and ask him if Profitizol is right for you. Today's post, in a way, is at Arxiv: The Crisis…

Culture Statistics

Stream: Vatican Environmental Conference: A Marriage of Bad Governors and Bad Science

Today's post is at the Stream: Vatican Environmental Conference: A Marriage of Bad Governors and Bad Science. The excerpt here keeps my caveman joke which was lost somewhere downstream. Jerry…

Philosophy

Is God is a Mathematician? Guest Post by Bob Kurland

Coincidentally, Bob Kurland sent this guest post on the day of miracles, a good follow up to yesterday's post. Feynman: "Do you know calculus?" Wouk: I admitted that I didn't.…

Philosophy Statistics

Bread From Something Or Nothing? Or, What’s A Miracle?

We interrupt our tour of Summa Contra Gentiles for this brief message. You've heard of the miracle of loaves and fishes? What's a miracle? How do miracles happen? Read these…

Culture

This Week In Doom: Crunchy Yummy Babies And A New Circle Of Hell

There's not much to enjoy about this week's doom, except to note that things are speeding up. Perhaps we need a pseudo-quantified measure of our acceleration into the abyss? Crunchy…

Culture

The Remnant: Ever Wonder Why Gmarriage Is Only Legal in Post Christian Nations?

Today's post is at The Remnant: "Ever Wonder Why Gmarriage Is Only Legal in Post Christian Nations?" Have you noticed that gmarriage---government-defined marriage---is legal only in post-Christian nations? Why this…

Book review Culture

The Perfectibility of Man: Suicide of the West at 50

It's (past) time we examined James Burnham's under-appreciated classic Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism, a book written fifty years ago. Everybody should…

John Pate on Why The Drake Equation FailsDecember 31, 2025
Seems to me the obvious reason for the state of the world as we see it is that aliens are…
Zundfolge on How Did We Do In Our 2025 Predictions?December 31, 2025
Wow, I have never been as far off as I was this last year. I'll have to give some thought…
Chaeremon on Why The Drake Equation FailsDecember 31, 2025
even when figures relate to observations, mathematics can only help with finding errors in equations -- against measured data. so,…
Nate on How Did We Do In Our 2025 Predictions?December 31, 2025
Happy New Year! I seem to have neglected to make a 2025 prediction (it would have likely been wrong anyway).…
Brian (bulaoren) on How Did We Do In Our 2025 Predictions?December 31, 2025
Most of those predictions are pretty bleak. I fear that pessimism evolves into cynicism when we feel we have a…

William M. Briggs

How Did We Do In Our 2025 Predictions?

Why The Drake Equation Fails

Canada Invents New Euphemism For Doctor Killings

Merry Christmas!

Complete List Of All Moral & Ethical Questions Answered By Science

Why British & EU Rulers Are Juicing War With Russia

Climate Models

Is Powerball A “Fair Game”?

No Class: But Here’s Some Homework

On The Form Of Species: ‘Dance To The Tune Of Life’ by Denis Noble Reviewed

How To Tell How Much Of “IQ” Is Inherited & How Much Is Environment

Class 74: Contra Effect Sizes

Academic Argues For Permissibility of Cannibalism, You Racist

I Finally Read James Lindsay’s Manifesto (Yes, He Has A Manifesto)

The Biggest Mistake In Science Applied To Universe As Simulation

Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad Dice

Academic Proposes Mushrooms To Avoid Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement

The Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Is Wrong: “Guns” are not the leading cause of death in kids

The Perfect Conspiracy Theory

Old Lodge Skins’ Prayer Of Thanksgiving

The Apples In A Sack Paradox: Solve It Or You Get No Pie Tomorrow