William M. Briggs

General Ethics: Peter Kreeft’s Summa Philosophica Part VII

Read Part VI. Remember, we're doing summaries of summaries here; only bare sketches are possible. Buy his book for more detail. Question VII is fun: General Ethics. That morality really…

Statistics

Belief In God Associated With Psychiatric Symptoms

Medicalizing Belief Would you say that a guy who claims he believes in a "just" God suffers from "psychiatric symptoms"? What if we swap "just" for "critical." Do we have…

Statistics

Two Kinds Of Bad Statistics Caused By Publish & Perish

Two (main) kinds of bad statistics: (1) where they are used to claim what is not true, and (2) where they are used to claim what is true. The second…

Philosophy Statistics

Russian Roulette And Certainty

Suppose one fine day you pick up your Smith & Wesson 586 ($809 MSRP), a .357 Magnum revolver---which means that thingee in the middle spins around, advancing one round at…

Book review Philosophy Statistics

Epistemology: Peter Kreeft’s Summa Philosophica Part VI

Read Part V. Remember, we're doing summaries of summaries here; only bare sketches are possible. Buy his book for more detail. We are back on familiar stamping groups with Question…

Philosophy

The Hypocrisy Fallacy: If You Don’t Do What’s Right, I Don’t Have To Either!

We continue our delightful series1 of mistakes in logic, this time highlighting the hypocrisy fallacy. It also has an official Latin name: ad hominem tu quoque, which loosely translated is,…

Statistics

Thinking About Dying Or Just Saw Bad Art? Pop A Tylenol, Say Researchers

At last justice! Psychologists are finally admitting that surrealism is painful. Take that starchitects! In your face performance artists! Swallow bitter pills transgressive painters! Actually, swallow Tylenol, because new research…

Book review Philosophy

Physical Anthropology: Peter Kreeft’s Summa Philosophica Part V

Read Part IV. Remember, we're doing summaries of summaries here; only bare sketches are possible. Buy his book for more detail. Question V is Physical Anthropology. The most contentious question…

spaceranger on Impossible LSAT Statistics QuestionFebruary 4, 2026
I usually go with "b." or "Asia" on those multiple choice ones.
Cary D Cotterman on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
Polar bears have existed for at least half a million years, and possibly as long as a million. They have…
Brian (bulaoren) on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
Dr. Briggs I was afraid I'd hijacked your subject today with my, rather dark, "Walter Lantz" cartoon. Returning to your…
Brian (bulaoren) on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
While we're on the subject of "Ursus Maritimus"; In 1987, a group of amusement denied boys decided to make an…
hudbwu on Impossible LSAT Statistics QuestionFebruary 3, 2026
> But that’s because the setup is itself weird. It contains the implicit premise that more beliefs equals better survival,…

William M. Briggs

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

The Consent Fallacy

On Laws Banning Hacking Women’s Genitals & Imposing Beliefs

Register Your Predictions For 2026!

Happy New Year!

How Did We Do In Our 2025 Predictions?

Why The Drake Equation Fails

Canada Invents New Euphemism For Doctor Killings

Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So Well

Impossible LSAT Statistics Question

General Ethics: Peter Kreeft’s Summa Philosophica Part VII

Belief In God Associated With Psychiatric Symptoms

Two Kinds Of Bad Statistics Caused By Publish & Perish

Russian Roulette And Certainty

Epistemology: Peter Kreeft’s Summa Philosophica Part VI

The Hypocrisy Fallacy: If You Don’t Do What’s Right, I Don’t Have To Either!

Thinking About Dying Or Just Saw Bad Art? Pop A Tylenol, Say Researchers

Physical Anthropology: Peter Kreeft’s Summa Philosophica Part V

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