William M. Briggs

Support For Abortion by Reason: Mother’s Health Tops List: Attitudes Are Inconsistent

From the General Social Survey, a picture of the support for abortion by reason from 1972 until 20061. GSS questions on abortions are asked of about 1,000 (order of magnitude)…

Culture Statistics

Firearm Homicides Dropping.: There Is No Need For New Gun Restrictions.

I rarely ask this, but please link, forward, email, and favorite this post as widely as possible. See below for copying permission. This post originally ran 16 January 2013 with…

Philosophy Statistics

Precaution: Part V (Final)—Guest Post by J.C. Hanekamp

Read Part IV Trying to create an ideal world by precautionary design carries utopian overtones of a nostalgic streak, also known the pastoral ideal that is so well described by…

Statistics

Privatization Kills?: Or, Doctors Under Government Control Save More Lives?

Quick, answer this without thinking: which is better for your health, living under a communist regime or a capitalist system? If you said "communist", may I wager you're an academic?…

Culture Statistics

Adjusted Mass Public Shootings per Decade Uncorrelated With Gun Ownership

Here are the Mass Public Shootings per Decade from the 1900s through 2012, adjusted for population. The rate is mass-shootings per million per decade, using the average population of the…

Philosophy Statistics

Precaution: Part IV—Guest Post by J.C. Hanekamp

Read Part III. Science plays an interesting role in precautionary culture. Overall, science is looked at in our culture as a discerning field of advice in terms of numerous aspects…

Culture

What Happened to the News?—Guest Post by the Blonde Bombshell

My father was a wire editor of our local paper. Even though the paper was "local" and covered a few counties, there was much more news than who married, who…

Statistics

Precaution: Part III—Guest Post by J.C. Hanekamp

Read Part II. Precaution is essential, so the tale goes, to create policies and laws that focus on and tackle uncertainty that might be the foreboding of particular risks. The…

Ray on Science Is Becoming FeelingsNovember 12, 2026
Remember the old song by Morris Albert? Feelings Nothing more than feelings Trying to forget my Feelings of love ETC.
John M on Pre-Order Everything You Believe Is Wrong (2nd edition)November 11, 2026
Yes, Happy Veterans Day from Petty Officer First Class John. I look forward to the book! I enjoyed the first.
Bill Hankel on Pre-Order Everything You Believe Is Wrong (2nd edition)November 11, 2026
An impressive list that I shall look forward to reading when my wife (or son) buys it for me for…
Brian (bulaoren) on Pre-Order Everything You Believe Is Wrong (2nd edition)November 11, 2026
Yes, time to stock up on necessities.
Cary Cotterman on Science Is Becoming FeelingsNovember 9, 2026
I'm still laughing about "Debolina".

William M. Briggs

Class 101: Entropy Part II

Pre-Order Everything You Believe Is Wrong (2nd edition)

Science Is Becoming Feelings

Class 100: Watch The Skies! But Only During Nuclear Tests?

After The Elections, The Book

The Solution To Evolution

Class 99: Entropy Part I

Book Update: Launch Date

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