Posted inFun Statistics
How Long Do Popes Serve? Update
Update 14 March 2013. The Guardian has released the data on the popes. Its list and mine differ trivially, except that they were able to include the popes' ages (starting…
Posted inCulture Statistics
Paddy Power’s Pope Predictions—Update
Update See below for main update. The odds of Father Dougal Maguire (Craggy Island) being the next Pope are 1,000 to 1. You may say this is small, but it's…
Posted inCulture Statistics
Feds Spend $1.5 Million to Study Why Lesbians Are Fat?
The title was taken from the CNS News story of the same name, which made ripples in the news yesterday (Drudge linked to it). The National Institutes of Health (NIH)…
Posted inStatistics
Doomed Planet: Changing Sun, Changing Climate
Today's post is at Quadrant. Have you been there before? If not, you have a treat in store. The editors supplied this quotation: "Today's debate about global warming is essentially…
Posted inStatistics
How Effective Was This Year’s Flu Vaccine?
A reader asks, was this year's flu shot effective? Short answer: Looks to be, but there is no definitive way to know. In order to know definitively for any one…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
Give Children The Vote?
"After soccer practice, I'm going to bring you to the polls." "Ah, mom! Do we have to go?" "Everybody has to vote, Johnny. If you don't, you're disenfranchised." "I want…
Posted inStatistics
Beer Goggles Not Real?
Perhaps the best reaction to a new study which says beer goggles are a "myth" is from MSN, which said: Contrary to literally everything we've ever heard (or experienced), "beer…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Correlation And Coincidence
A hastily written entry today, folks. Busy day. Typos at no extra charge. Reader Al Perrella invites us to Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manner, where a note from our friend Mike…
