William M. Briggs

Shocking New Study: Males Play More Sports Than Non-Males

The peer-reviewed paper "A Sex Difference in the Predisposition for Physical Competition: Males Play Sports Much More than Females Even in the Contemporary U.S" by Robert O. Deaner and a…

Philosophy Statistics

In Defense Of Peter Kreeft: A Response To Brafford

Peter Kreeft, a philosopher whose surname does not sound like it is spelled, placed in Touchstone the article "Clashing Symbols: The Loss of Aristotelian Logic & the Social, Moral, &…

Statistics

Do Heat Waves Cause Birth Defects?

What would you name a paper which purports to discover that heat waves stress pregnant women and thus cause birth defects but which never once measures the actual exposure of…

Culture Statistics

No Religion Is Third-Largest World Group: Or, How Inaccurate Are Surveys On Religious Belief?

The actual headline at Reuters was "No religion" is the third-largest world group after Christians, Muslim, but my expurgated version is close enough. It's also similar to many of the…

Fun

The Hobbit Reviewed—Guest Post by John Henry Briggs

The Hobbit was quite good, but disappointing. One of the biggest flaws in Lord of the Rings was the endless video game-like orc slaughter that was gratuitous at best and…

Philosophy Statistics

The Data Is The Data, Not The Model: With Climatology Time Series Example

How not to plot The following plot was sent to me yesterday for comment. I cannot disclose the sender, nor the nature of the data, but neither of these are…

Fun

Fats Waller—Your Feet’s Too Big

I was reminded of Fats because an album of his was one of the best Christmas presents I ever received. And 'tis the season.

Statistics

On-Line Statistics Course: Ideas And Your Opinions

We talked about this a couple of months ago, but now the time is nigh to build and create an on-line statistics course, or courses. There are several problems: content,…

Johnno on Does Watching TV Cause Autism?July 23, 2025
Did watching TV pharma ads lead to an increase in vexxination rates at the same time as all the autism?
Does Watching TV Cause Autism? – William M. Briggs on Does watching TV cause autism?July 23, 2025
[…] classic column originally ran 31 July 2008. I edited it to provide a working link to the paper and…
“??? ???? ???, ????? ?? ? ?”…?? ?? – ?????? on Two Statistical Curiosities That Allowed Biden To Pull Ahead In PA: ONE CURIOSITY SOLVED: BAD DATA ENTRYJuly 23, 2025
[…] ?? 4? ?? 9?? ??? 3??? ??? ? ? 1??? ????(??? ??). ??? ????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ????,…
Johnno on Peer-Reviewed Research: Men Find Looking At Nearly Naked Women DistractingJuly 22, 2025
Why couldn't I have been involved as a participant in this study? I would enjoy the opportunity to be paid…
David Willis on Peer-reviewed research: Men find looking at nearly naked women distractingJuly 22, 2025
hahahahahahhahahahahah This shit is too much.

William M. Briggs

Does Watching TV Cause Autism?

Peer-Reviewed Research: Men Find Looking At Nearly Naked Women Distracting

A Week’s Vacation

Class 58: Hypothesis Testing Is All Wrong

Vegetarians Crave Power And Success More Than Meat Eaters Do, Study Finds

Jung’s Synchronicity & Coincidence

Reader Opinion Requested: What Science Do You Find Sketchy, Exaggerated Or Wrong?

Class 57: The Second Best Model

Don’t Lose Sleep Over Research On “Climate Change” & Sleep Apnea

What’s Wrong With The Golf Course Parkinson’s Study

The Unseen Bias In All Science

The Sad End Of Radio

Let’s Play A Game Of Let’s Suppose!

Test Your IQ With These Puzzles! (Not So Easy!)

How Can You Tell If You Have ESP?

Class 56: The Best Model!

Sabine Hossenfelder’s Free Will Folly & The Deadly Sin Of Reification

England’s Mandatory Suicide & Women

On The Probability Of God

Class 55: Models Vs Reality

AI & Chess Both Produce Pre-Coded Output