William M. Briggs

How Paranormal Research Differs From Normal Research

Cornell's Daryl Bem case is instructive. He's an academic who has published several notable peer-reviewed articles which claim that (several different versions of) ESP is real. Trouble is, despite the…

Statistics

The Science In The Mercury Report By Florida’s DEP — Guest Post By Willie Soon

Our friend Willie Soon wrote this editorial in response to this letter from the Florida DEP. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is here. As a scientist who has spent…

Culture

Barcode People From Birth — Guest Post By Faith Reader

Despotism and tyranny wear many cloaks.Â Modern Western leaders are above using raw, brute power to fulfill their desires.Â Instead, they wheedle and whine and the public gives in, worn…

Statistics

The Difference Between Technical And Plain English Correlation

Since the subject has come up so often, today a note on the words correlated and correlation. They have technical definitions and plain English meanings. The two definitions overlap but…

Culture Philosophy

Are There Any Arguments Against Eugenics Left?

Most, or even all, progressives say they are against eugenics. Yet most, or all, progressives were against the recent Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act which would have outlawed sex-selective abortions in these…

Fun Philosophy Statistics

Gloom, Despair, Email Spoofing, And Kahan’s Science Literacy Paper

Somebody spoofed my Yahoo email address which I use for ordering, registrations and the like. Sent hundreds of emails to my contact list yesterday. Now I ordinarily run Linux, which…

Culture Philosophy

There Are Too Many Fat People: What To Do About It. Update: Bloomberg Bans Soda Pop

Update Mike Bloomberg, current owner of New York City's mayoral title, has graciously allowed (by not yet banning) me to re-publish this article which expresses a sentiment dear to Mayor…

Fun Statistics

Astrologers See Obama Victory

Alas, our great nation is in retrograde, with the House of Koalemos (Greek god of stupidity) rising, ever rising. Dark cosmic forces have aligned---perhaps maligned is a better way to…

Tim on Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap HanekampJuly 23, 2026
I enjoyed this discussion. I am very interested in hearing you gentlemen continue discussing nitrogen.
John Pate on Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap HanekampJuly 22, 2026
Considering "climate change" went out the window when the powers that be wanted more data centres I'm sure the Precautionary…
Cary D Cotterman on Believing In God Makes You Crave Potato Chips, Say AcademicsJuly 22, 2026
Hean Tat Keh Good Pharaoh name.
The True Nolan on University of California Prof Tries To Save System From DIEingJuly 20, 2026
?I used to know a guy who didn't speak German. But that didn't stop him from sounding like he spoke…
spetzer86 on Believing In God Makes You Crave Potato Chips, Say AcademicsJuly 20, 2026
How are hash browns "ultra-processed"? They are essentially baked potatoes that were shredded and then fried until their collective exteriors…

William M. Briggs

$7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?

Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap Hanekamp

Believing In God Makes You Crave Potato Chips, Say Academics

Hume’s Guillotine, Euclid’s Catapult: Induction, Axioms, and Objective Ethics

University of California Prof Tries To Save System From DIEing

The Equality Paradox

My Horrible Interaction With AI

SOON

The Court’s Slow Theft Of The Constitution — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Happy Birthday to US

Never Use Or Trust P-values (Pagan-Values)

Musk Doges Deaths: Researchers Say USAID Absence Kills Kills Kills!

The Intellectual Capacity Of Women by David Stove

Marbles!

Class 92: Simple Optimal Decisions: PSA & Cancer Example

Math Is Epistemic Violence, Says Lady Academic

Truly Random Numbers Found?

Class 91: Try Not To Use the ROC Curve & AUC

Climate Change Increases Risk of Even Slower World Cup Games!

The Ultimate IQ Test: Guessing the Author’s Mind and Escaping the Infinity of Answers

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