William M. Briggs

CARB Misinterprets Statistics, Calls For Elimination Of Dust

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, has issued a press release that shows how easy it is to misunderstand statistics. That most do---fail to comprehend what statistical results are…

Fun Statistics

Are Moneylines Useful In Predicting NFL Games?

Today's post is over at Edgehogs. I wanted to know how good moneylines were at predicting wins and loses. Since Las Vegas is still in business, it was a good…

Fun

Count Zappula, Horror Host Par Excellence

Gaylord, Michigan, 1979, population 3000. It was 11:30pm, I was 15, in bed watching television with the house dark, parents asleep, a small B&W portable set perched on the blanket,…

Fun

Open Thread: What To Chat About Next?

It is once again Travel Day---or was: I'm writing this in state of advanced jet lag. So, in lieu of thought I've written this little introduction to nothing, hoping you…

Statistics

Increasing Replication Of Un-Reproducibility In Science

Best science picture of the year, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal (and thanks to reader Dan Hughes): In just the last decade---ten mere years---the number of "peer-reviewed" journal articles…

Culture

Make Colleges Co-Signers Of Student Loans?

As often has been said, if everybody is a genius, then nobody is. The wisdom in this apothegm is little changed by the modification: if everybody has a certification of…

Culture Philosophy

Science Explains Belief In God Through Genetics

Let's look at "Life's Extremes: Atheists vs. Believers", a piece on Live Science (the home of unexpurgated university press releases; hat tip to HotAir). The article is itself slight---it begins…

Statistics

Geo-engineering The Climate: Durban Global Warming Conference

A group of scientists, funded generously by Big Green, which includes the Environmental Defense Fund, have released a report to coincide with the efforts of the Durban Global Warming Conference,…

Briggs on Lying Increases Trust In Science, Says AcademicAugust 11, 2025
Sam, Indeed.
Sam on Lying Increases Trust In Science, Says AcademicAugust 11, 2025
"hyde the decline" ?? Is this a test?
spetzer86 on Lady Pilots Better Than Men, Says The ScienceAugust 7, 2025
I'm assuming they only asked pilots of fixed-wing aircraft and not those rotary-wing pilots flying in the Washington, DC area.
spetzer86 on Class 60: Does This Guy Have ESP? 1August 7, 2025
A person could still game your system by doing something complicated but not impossible. For example, repeatedly selecting one card…
hudbwu on New Definition Of Death To Increase Organ Harvest BountyAugust 7, 2025
> Today they take people who docs declare are in “irreversible coma” etc. and not “brain dead”. They are wheeled…

William M. Briggs

Lying Increases Trust In Science, Says Academic

Class 60: Does This Guy Have ESP? 1

Lady Pilots Better Than Men, Says The Science

Academics Say It’s Morally Obligatory To Bioengineer Ticks To Stop You Eating Meat

New Definition Of Death To Increase Organ Harvest Bounty

Class 59: The Hardest Hypothesis In The World

The If I Were God Fallacy & Evolution

Universities Need To Be Made To Lose Prestige

Only Credentialed Artists Can Appreciate This

Does Watching TV Cause Autism?

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