William M. Briggs

Putting The Squeeze On Bob Newhart, Duck Dynasty

The culture war continues, with most of the battles still being won by the side which employs its devastatingly effective Shock Shrill Squad (the SSS). Two examples. Heard of Legatus?…

Philosophy Statistics

Causation And Correlation

Our friend Christopher Monckton of Brenchley wrote a piece over at Anthony Watt's place in which he said (Reader KA Rodgers asked me to have a look): CO2 concentration continues…

Culture Philosophy

Belgian “Doctors” To Kill Kids They Think They Can’t Cure

Belgium has just made it legal for "doctors" to kill children. Not those who haven't yet escaped the womb---those kids have been fair game for any quack with a sharp…

Culture Philosophy

Entry For The Most Pompous Statement Of Scientism

Our friend John Cook came (via The Renaissance Mathematicus) across what is easily one of the most pompous declarations by a scientist we have ever seen. The words came from…

Culture

Professor Confesses Why She Inflates Grades

I had a student come into my office (where I was a visiting mathematics professor) shaking with emotion. This was a day or two before the final exam. I couldn't…

Statistics

Exposure to Fast Food Impedes Happiness, Researchers

That don't call it the unhappy meal for nothing. Or, wait... What we have here is yet another instance of scientists claiming to have done something they did not do.…

Statistics

Global Warming Creating Anxious Fish

Fish the world over are rubbing their fins together and fretting over news of climate change. One day they are told earnestly that the world's oceans are going to boil…

Culture Statistics

Lord, Save Us From Impact Factors

Randy Schekman, a Big Cheese in the sciences, is right: people use "place of publication as a proxy for quality of science". Where a paper is often counts more than…

hudbwu on The Importance Of Not Making DecisionsFebruary 18, 2026
True worlds of wisdom. Some years ago, I bonded with a fellow online when we discovered we both don't rush…
Uncle Mike on The Importance Of Not Making DecisionsFebruary 18, 2026
“Belief clings, but faith lets go.” - Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of…
Brian (bulaoren) on Don’t Take The ‘Long-Covid’ Alzheimer’s Study SeriouslyFebruary 18, 2026
I'm still wondering if that Tucson AZ. sheriff checked the glove for long covid.
Tars Tarkas on The Importance Of Not Making DecisionsFebruary 18, 2026
People hold more than one kind of belief (more than the two I am mentioning). There are beliefs that are…
NLR on The Importance Of Not Making DecisionsFebruary 18, 2026
"You do not have to believe. You can stay at uncertainty" That is a good point. With regards to the…

William M. Briggs

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

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