William M. Briggs

Updates: What’s Happening With Briggs? With the On-line Course? Etc.?

Homefront Things progress on the Briggs ranch---a patch of 900 square feet in the wilds of Upper Eastern Manhattan. They may shortly be progressing away from the island towards...where, nobody…

Culture

Resolved: Women In Combat Results In A Suboptimal Military: Update

Every woman soldier I've seen on TV and in the movies is just as tough as---wait, strike that---is tougher than any man. There always comes the scene where some muscle-bound…

Philosophy Statistics

Statistics Is Not Math: Update To Allow New Comments

Update Hello newcomers. Posts usually close for comments after two weeks. But since this one is getting so many views, I moved it up to re-open comments. "Here is a…

Statistics

Does Barack Obama Have A Mandate? A Look At The Numbers

How important was Barack Obama's victory? By what measure can he be said to have secured a "mandate"? How does his election compares to others? And how do voters in…

Statistics

Use And Abuses Of Decision Analysis: Global Warming Example

Suppose we have a simple decision to make1: implement a government-takeover of all energy companies, so as to regulate with thoroughness their carbon budgets, or leave these entities as they…

Statistics

A Citizen’s Guide to Global Warming Evidence

Was it only me? I thought Chicken Little dead. After all, when was the last time we heard competent authority shouting "Only the government can stop the sky from falling!"?…

Culture Philosophy Statistics

Genetic Engineering To Create New Super Moral Race: Savulescu Strikes Again

On the road, so here is a classic post from not too long ago. The appalling Julian Savulescu1 is back, this time staining the pages of the British edition of…

Philosophy Statistics

A Statistician’s Lament

Regular readers (those wanting to catch up, click here) will know that the world is far too sure of itself, especially in areas which touch on human behavior, and most…

Bill Hankel on How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain PowerMay 6, 2026
I decided to accept your challenge, knowing with near certainty that your intuition was correct. I invested 15-20 seconds total…
C-Marie on Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI PachinkoMay 5, 2026
Sooo sad about Richard Dawkins. I just prayed for Holy Spirit revelation of Jesus Christ to him. Here is hoping…
Rudolph Harrier on Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI PachinkoMay 5, 2026
I once had an old freezer and I wasn't sure if it was working properly. Since at the time I…
John Pate on Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI PachinkoMay 5, 2026
Dawkins is leaning in to the idea that we've defined consciousness as what we are seeing the AI chatbots produce.…
Phileas Frogg on The Red-Blue Button Dilemma & Its Surprising AnswerMay 5, 2026
Push the Red button then order my entire family to do the same, because we are not obligated to risk…

William M. Briggs

How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain Power

Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI Pachinko

Class 88: The Most Neglected Concept: Skill

The Red-Blue Button Dilemma & Its Surprising Answer

UFO Reports About To Blast Off!

Class 87: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Examples

Noticing Differences Between Races Does Not Pay

What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?

Class 86: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Theory

How A Miracle Turns Mundane

Contest Winner Announced!

Trump’s Last Stand: Mea Culpa, Redux — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Class 85: Proper Scores of Model Goodness

Proof!

Justice Ketanji Roars

Iran Has Caught Covid: A Reason For The War

Class 84: Most Important Measure of Model Goodness

There Is No Solution To Crashing Fertility: Good Times Made Soft Men

Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?

All Models Only Say What They Are Told To Say, And AI Is A Model

It’s The End Of The World Again

How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain Power

Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI Pachinko

Updates: What’s Happening With Briggs? With the On-line Course? Etc.?

Resolved: Women In Combat Results In A Suboptimal Military: Update

Statistics Is Not Math: Update To Allow New Comments

Does Barack Obama Have A Mandate? A Look At The Numbers

Use And Abuses Of Decision Analysis: Global Warming Example

A Citizen’s Guide to Global Warming Evidence

Genetic Engineering To Create New Super Moral Race: Savulescu Strikes Again

A Statistician’s Lament

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