William M. Briggs

There Is No Such Thing As Unconditional Probability: Update

I am awarding a Briggs Internet Prize---the coveted BIP---for anybody who can demonstrate even one instance of a probability which is unconditional on any evidence whatsoever. The prize will not…

Culture Philosophy

California Students To Choose Genders, Bathrooms: Update

A leading academic theory is that "gender" is a construct, where by "gender" the academic means sexual behavior and by "construct" she means something we make up, a decision. If…

Philosophy

On The Probability God Exists

In order not to make the reader sick with jealously, I will not tell him that I sit on the porch on a bright summer morning mere steps away from…

Philosophy

Something From Nothing: Or, A Heavenly Fish Sandwich

So I was sitting on the porch by the lake reading a piece by Trent Horn on the first premise of the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of God,…

Fun

From Claude Shannon To Demonic Mosquitoes To Bluegill

Here's some information for you: this is a statue of Claude Shannon, tucked in-between two unfrequented buildings in tiny Gaylord, Michigan (most buildings are unfrequented here). Shannon's the guy who…

Fun

Good Gnus—PG Wodehouse Hunting Poem

A northern Michigan summer! Time to venture forth out onto the waters and kill something to eat. I'm thinking pike. Wodehouse had gnus in mind. When cares attack and life…

Fun

Happy 50th Bill & Marilyn!

We made rather merry at the party yesterday. So much so that there might not be any fresh posts for days.

Fun Statistics

Two New Dice Games: Animosity & Disdain

Summer and time for doing plenty of nothing. Like playing a rousing game of 10,000, sometimes called Farkle, Dix Mille, or "Didn't we just play that yesterday?" There are many…

John Pate on Reading Bryan Johnson’s The Immortalism ManifestoOctober 27, 2026
I long ago concluded that people like this are only fit for laughing and pointing at. They are mentally ill…
C-Marie on Reading Bryan Johnson’s The Immortalism ManifestoOctober 27, 2026
And, Jesus Christ? Lord and Saviour .... So sad, leaving out God our Father .... And the Holy Spirit ....…
Cary Cotterman on Reading Bryan Johnson’s The Immortalism ManifestoOctober 26, 2026
I'm probably going to croak sometime within the next twenty years, but at least I have the pleasure of being…
Tars Tarkas on Reading Bryan Johnson’s The Immortalism ManifestoOctober 26, 2026
There are thousand year old machines in England still capable of running, though not in general use. I saw a…
NLR on Reading Bryan Johnson’s The Immortalism ManifestoOctober 26, 2026
All of this is vast speculation. Is it possible for people to live much longer, hundreds of years? Maybe so.…

William M. Briggs

Reading Bryan Johnson’s The Immortalism Manifesto

Class 98: Limitations of Genetic Associations With Personality

I’m Thinking Of A Number Between 1 and 5 (that you can’t guess)

Against Numerology: Some Basic Calculations

Class 97: The Goal Of Models

Book Update

Sexual Assault Galore At Cornell

Class 96: Can Bayesianism Quantify True Belief?

Top 10 Reasons AI Will Never Become Superintelligence: It Won’t Destroy Nor Save Us

Viewer Asks: Why Do I Bother?

Academics Call For The Killing Of Babies In “After-Birth” Abortions

Irrational Rationalists: Effective Altruists & The Planet of the Ants

Class 95: Answering P-Value Good Uses Challenges

Whoring For Climate Change

Lady Academics Tire Of Being Judged By Peer Review

Class 94: Quantifying The Unquantifiable

PFAS and Preservatives: Entrenching Chemophobia through Everyday Stuff — Guest Post by Jaap Hanekamp

The MRS Degree — Guest Post by Johnathan Edwards

Politicians Demand “Right” To Be Protected Against AI

Class 93: P-values Challenge! List The “Good Uses” of P-value

Is the West Dying Out? The Demographic Crisis Explained: Jon Harris Podcast