William M. Briggs

Women Do Not Have A Right To Do Whatever They Want With Their Bodies

Over the weekend Yours Truly tweeted this: https://twitter.com/mattstat/status/262583368246497280 Within five minutes of posting, I lost seven Twitter followers, people presumably displeased with the entry. Since this is me, I first…

Statistics

Nate Silver’s Obama Prediction: What Does It Mean?

It was Sophocles who first noted the truism, "No one loves the messenger who brings bad news." But the converse is also true. As it is written (in Romans 10:15),…

Culture

The Downside Of Technology: Being On Call 24/7—Guest Post by The Blonde Bombshell (with pic!)

Let me first say that I am a modest person with a modest existence. I have a job, which is nothing special, but I do it well. I have a…

Philosophy

Academic Philosopher Finds New Way To Dehumanize People; Calls For Beetroot Liberation

Update Now with new and improved title! (Title writing is a talent which your humble author possesses not.) In the classic 1978 documentary Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! we watch…

Statistics

Intrade’s Record In Picking Presidents: Is There Market Manipulation?

An "influential forecast" is one in which knowledge of the prediction changes the uncertainty in the thing being predicted. Consider a (respected) political opinion poll which announces Candidate B has…

Culture

Italian Scientists Convicted! Shocked That Their Predictions Were Heeded

Do you feel that chill? It's from a fell wind issuing from an Italian judge's courtroom, where he has just sent a group of seismologists and one politician to the…

Statistics

Risk Analysis And Over Certainty: Classical vs. Bayesian vs. Predictive Statistics

There are two main uses of statistics by civilians, defined as folks who use statistics, who may have even had a class or two in the subject, but who are…

Philosophy

Realism vs. Anti-Realism V: Conclusion—Guest Post by G. Rodrigues

The debate between the three views is ancient, and extremely complicated. It can also seem at first glance to be very dry, esoteric, and irrelevant to practical life. But nothing…

Chad Jessup on Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?June 5, 2026
I am very happy for any information you post, so whatever suits your time and interests is fine with me.…
Steve on Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?June 5, 2026
The bikini rule -- less is more, but it has to cover all the important stuff. As with human bodies,…
Heresolong on Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?June 5, 2026
Yes.
Jose Miro Julia on Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?June 5, 2026
I'd prefer 3-4 short ones a week.
Ivdas Machabevs on Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?June 4, 2026
Longer, deeper, rarer.

William M. Briggs

Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?

No Model Will Save Us: Pope Leo, the Miserostat, and AI’s Woke Coders

How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?

Class 90: Simple (Optimal) Decisions

Shocking Abortion Numbers: Death Distributions Show We’re Living Longer

Blessed Memorial Day; No Class; See You Wednesday

Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”

Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize Ourselves

Class 89: The Measure Most Modelers Forget: Skill Examples

The Shocking Conclusion of the HR Trilemma!

The HR Trilemma: Which Door Decides Your Fate?

Capital Punishment Deters Crime More Than The Death Penalty

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

Reader Poll: Shorter or Longer, Frequent or Rarer Posts?

No Model Will Save Us: Pope Leo, the Miserostat, and AI’s Woke Coders

Women Do Not Have A Right To Do Whatever They Want With Their Bodies

Nate Silver’s Obama Prediction: What Does It Mean?

The Downside Of Technology: Being On Call 24/7—Guest Post by The Blonde Bombshell (with pic!)

Academic Philosopher Finds New Way To Dehumanize People; Calls For Beetroot Liberation

Intrade’s Record In Picking Presidents: Is There Market Manipulation?

Italian Scientists Convicted! Shocked That Their Predictions Were Heeded

Risk Analysis And Over Certainty: Classical vs. Bayesian vs. Predictive Statistics

Realism vs. Anti-Realism V: Conclusion—Guest Post by G. Rodrigues

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