William M. Briggs

Lancet Editor: Half Of Science Is Wrong. An Underestimate?

Half of science may be wrong? That may be an underestimate. But at least Richard Horton, the editor in chief of The Lancet, is in the right ballpark. Ballpark? That…

Culture

Junk Science and Cheap Moralism on the Tiber: The Church And Global Warming

Today's post is at The Stream.org. Junk Science and Cheap Moralism on the Tiber: The Vatican's top science officer lashes out at critics, defending his alliance with abortion advocates and…

Culture

What Went Wrong In Ireland, And What Will Go Wrong Here

What went awry in Ireland was not the result of the vote, a result which was, of course, the wrong decision. The offense was something much deeper, something basic. It…

Fun

Something To Cheer The Irish (And The Rest Of Us)

Given the state of the world, and because this is a long weekend with scarcely anyone around, this picture. It is Bubba Anderson, a (then) girl who went to the…

Culture

The Week In Doom: Nervous Sheep & Intolerant Irish

https://twitter.com/LADFLEG/status/602012010470080512 Return of the snakes As of this writing, Ireland has voted 60%-ish to allow two men or two women---and only two at this point; arbitrary discrimination, no?---to pretend to…

Culture

Gay-conversion Therapy Bans And The Origin Of Homosexual

When "gay" or "homosexual" meant somebody who predominately engaged in same-sex activities, the words had some use, but with an inherent and real danger that people, via this language, would…

Culture

Ireland’s Same-Sex Gmarriage Vote: Or, The Snakes Return?

Update See Saturday's post for results. Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has "no wish to stuff [his] religious views down other people's throats"---is that done with a shillelagh?---and so he won't…

Statistics

Are Wars And Violence Decreasing? Taleb’s New Paper Reviewed

The vale of tears I've been asked by several people to comment on Pasquale Cirillo and Nassim Nicholas Taleb's paper (thankfully, not peer-reviewed, unless you count this) "On the tail…

NLR on The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In KindMarch 5, 2026
I agree with the paper test; like the Chinese room argument, it is a way to illustrate that a mechanical…
Briggs on The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In KindMarch 5, 2026
Eric, Darn similar, and (I hope) simplified.
Eric Brown on The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In KindMarch 4, 2026
Isn’t this Searle’s Chinese Room argument? Not that I disagree with either of you…
Rhetocrates on The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In KindMarch 4, 2026
I disagree with the conclusion of the test. There is no need for panic or concern over the possibility of…
C-Marie on The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In KindMarch 4, 2026
God is!!! Well done, Matt!! Loved this! Great explanations .... even understood much of it at 82 years!!! Am sending…

William M. Briggs

Class 81: The Second Biggest Error In Time Series

The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In Kind

Researcher Imagines Weather With No Human Influence: Concludes Climate Change Hurts Incomes

Faith Deposited: Why Godless Science Fails

Class 80: Granger Causality; Per Se & Accidental Time Series; Stationarity

Scientists Seeking To Escape Criticism Run To The Warmth & Comfort Of Bluesky

The Loss of Ephemera — Guest Post by The Blonde Bombshell

Class 79: Time Series Example

The Importance Of Not Making Decisions

Don’t Take The ‘Long-Covid’ Alzheimer’s Study Seriously

AI Is Driving Many Crazy: Our Latest Panic

Class 78: The Attempt To Turn Correlation Lead Into Causation Gold In Time Series

Desperate Need For Equality: AP Exam Performance

Some Sanity: Experts Sued For Creating Gender Delusions

Why The Recent Claims Of AGI Fail: Plus, A New Test For AGI

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

Class 81: The Second Biggest Error In Time Series

The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In Kind

Lancet Editor: Half Of Science Is Wrong. An Underestimate?

Junk Science and Cheap Moralism on the Tiber: The Church And Global Warming

What Went Wrong In Ireland, And What Will Go Wrong Here

Something To Cheer The Irish (And The Rest Of Us)

The Week In Doom: Nervous Sheep & Intolerant Irish

Gay-conversion Therapy Bans And The Origin Of Homosexual

Ireland’s Same-Sex Gmarriage Vote: Or, The Snakes Return?

Are Wars And Violence Decreasing? Taleb’s New Paper Reviewed

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