William M. Briggs

What Can We Learn From A Crude Model Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases?

It's Statistical Modeling Day, so let's look at one dealing with sexually transmitted diseases. Why this subject? Well, according to New York's CBS 2, "Study Shows Soaring STD Rates In…

Fun Philosophy

Transhumanists Gather In San Francisco

My first thought when I read the title of today's post (from Bioedge) was that it was some kind of warning. Look out! It's the transhumanists! And then I figured…

Culture Fun

The Superpower I’d Most Like To Have

This is written in earnest; my desire is sincere. And not uncommon: I mean, the longing for a superpower and the announcing of same are not rare. No less than…

Fun Philosophy

Sam Harris & William Lane Craig Duke It Out

The debate question was: Are the foundations of moral values natural or supernatural? Winner? By acclamation Harris, but then the deck was stacked against Lane because the event was held…

Philosophy Statistics

What Does The Regression Equation Mean? Causality? Something Else?

Saw this tweet this fine morning: https://twitter.com/MarkThoma/status/276542962622668800 and downloaded the paper at the landing site, co-authored by Judea Pearl, he of Causality fame (a recommended book). Pearl and a co-author…

Philosophy

Two Oregon Academics Attempt Logic Lesson, Fail Miserably

Bertrand Russell said: "People are zealous for a cause when they are not quite positive that it is true." I think this false and even scurrilous. The zealous are nothing…

Culture Philosophy

National Catholic Reporter Calls For Ordination Of Women

The NCR, the Catholic equivalent of the New York Times, ended their teasing yesterday and came right out and said it. "Catholic women who have discerned a call to the…

Culture Statistics

We Will Soon All Be Mentally Ill: DSM V & Testing All Children For Mental Disease

"The history of psychiatry is littered with fad diagnoses that in retrospect did far more harm than good," says doctor Allen Frances, the chairman of the DSM-IV Task Force and…

Lucy Tucker on It’s The End Of The World AgainMarch 24, 2026
????
Cary D Cotterman on It’s The End Of The World AgainMarch 24, 2026
I have encountered people who believe the lines of water vapor created by hot jet engines passing through cold air…
Cary D Cotterman on It’s The End Of The World AgainMarch 24, 2026
Nothing in the "Beliefs Scale" about the Sun and Earth just petering out naturally over billions of years, as is…
Brian (bulaoren) on It’s The End Of The World AgainMarch 24, 2026
Well, at least it isn't cancer!
spetzer86 on It’s The End Of The World AgainMarch 24, 2026
"Oh Lord, bless this thy hand grenade that it might blow thine enemies into tiny bits by thy mercy"

William M. Briggs

It’s The End Of The World Again

Belgian Judge Wants To Arrest Little Nate Cofnast Because Cofnast Says Smart People Are Smarter Than Dumb People

Class 83: Why Were Paul Ehrlich’s Predictions So Good (and so Bad)?

The Great Effeminization of the Academy

The Only Metric That Matters: Or, Pinker’s Folly

Lancet Discovers Public Health Is Politics

Class 82: Be More Uncertain (About Models)

On Not Reading

The Great Smoothing: Another Reason Not To Fear (or trust) AI

A Synchronicity Or Coincidence? What Is Behind Curious Events?

Class 81: The Second Biggest Error In Time Series

The Paper Test Shows Why AGI Is Not Possible: And Why The Brain Is Different In Kind

Researcher Imagines Weather With No Human Influence: Concludes Climate Change Hurts Incomes

Faith Deposited: Why Godless Science Fails

Class 80: Granger Causality; Per Se & Accidental Time Series; Stationarity

Scientists Seeking To Escape Criticism Run To The Warmth & Comfort Of Bluesky

The Loss of Ephemera — Guest Post by The Blonde Bombshell

Class 79: Time Series Example

The Importance Of Not Making Decisions

Don’t Take The ‘Long-Covid’ Alzheimer’s Study Seriously

AI Is Driving Many Crazy: Our Latest Panic