William M. Briggs

All Forecasts, Predictions, & Prophecies Are Contingent

Yesterday I made the point that Jim Hansen's latest threat of doom was a conditional one. I also said that there was nothing wrong with this. And there isn't. Nothing…

Statistics

Boy Sues Government To Stop Global Warming. James Hansen Comes Out Of Hiding

I had thought the furor was over, that those who held ultramontane views about climatologists like James "Lock me up!" Hansen (see below the fold) had given up and gone…

Culture Statistics

Many Lie About Their Support Of Gay Marriage: Study

Thanks to New York Times's (yes) Russ Douthat who alerted us to the paper "Findings from a Decade of Polling on Ballot Measures Regarding the Legal Status of SameÂ Sex…

Culture Philosophy

What The North Carolina Gay Marriage Vote Means To You If You Were Against It

North Carolina voted 61 to 39 to amend its constitution to read that marriage is solely a union between a man and a woman. This was, as far as democratic…

Philosophy

Heartland Institute Accomplishes Act To Self Once Thought Physically Impossible

At the risk of losing the argument before it begins, let me ask you two questions. Number One: What do Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse-tung, serial killer and eater Jeffrey Dahmer,…

Statistics

Study Finds 9-Month-Old Babies Are Racist

MSNBC reports this: University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers placed sensors on the heads of 9-month-old babies...and measured brain activity when infants were shown pictures of white and black faces expressing…

Culture Philosophy Statistics

The Dire And Depressing Implications Of Science As Scientism: Two Introductions

A long introduction... Scientism is the fallacy that all that is known and all that can be known, can only be known through scientific methods: that which is testable is…

Culture Statistics

Why Republicans Deny Science—And Reality: Request For Help

Update The link to Sam Harris's abysmal study are now provided. That is the (modified) subtitle of the sanctimoniously self-satisfied Chris Mooney's new book, "The Republican Brain: The Science of…

Dan MacDougald on Peer-Reviewed Research: Men Find Looking At Nearly Naked Women DistractingJuly 22, 2025
Reminds me of the study that found college women were more likely to have hook up sex after drinking alcohol
Peer-Reviewed Research: Men Find Looking At Nearly Naked Women Distracting – William M. Briggs on Peer-reviewed research: Men find looking at nearly naked women distractingJuly 22, 2025
[…] This classic column originally ran on 12 June 2008. […]
Media Lament State Dept Cuts, Ignore Job Wreckage From Past Democratic Admins on The Myth Of Killer Mercury: Guest Post By Willie Soon & Paul DriessenJuly 21, 2025
[…] generating plants with equal zeal, using questionable-to-bogus claims about climate change, mercury, and fine particulates to justify its actions. One…
Layoffs at – Versus Because of – Federal Agencies - The Post & Email on The Myth Of Killer Mercury: Guest Post By Willie Soon & Paul DriessenJuly 20, 2025
[…] generating plants with equal zeal, using questionable to bogus claims about climate change, mercury and fine particulates to justify…
Kevin McMillen on The Hierarchy Of Intelligences & IQ: We’re Not As Smart As We ThinkJuly 19, 2025
Is this article proof that you didn’t score very well on a recent IQ test?

William M. Briggs

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

The Hubris Of Experts: NIH Edition