William M. Briggs

My Failure To Purchase Something In The Market Subjects Me To Regulation

The title words were spoken to Solicitor General Verrilli by Justice Scalia in yesterday's oral arguments. Scalia was making the obvious point that because he might not buy a thing…

Book review Philosophy

The Universe Created From Nothing Says Lawrence Krauss

This fragment of conversation was reported to me by a reliable witness. It occurred between a gentlemen we will call "Daffy" and Lawrence M. Krauss upon the occasion of the…

Culture

Supreme Court To Check The Doctrine Of Unintended Consequences?

This country, like all other countries, has at times lost its mind. But this country, again like all others, since it is constituted differently than the others, goes insane in…

Culture

Why You Don’t Want Free Health Care: Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Obamacare

Our reading today is from the Constitution, first Act, eighth Section, third Clause: [The Congress shall have Power] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and…

Philosophy Statistics

Bayes Theorem Proves Jesus Existed And Didn’t Exist

In his shockingly neglected, A Treatise on Probability John Maynard Keynes put his finger on the difficulty people have with probability, particularly Bayes's Theorem: No other formula in the alchemy…

Culture Philosophy

Experts Say People Aren’t Smart Enough

Public Policy Polling's Tom Jensen said recently, "The first lesson you learn as a pollster is that people are stupid." Jensen represents a common attitude among media denizens that ordinary…

Fun Statistics

Global Warming Feedback Confirmed!

Just some gentle teasing today. Every climate scientist knows that it's the feedback that counts, that the few squirts of carbon dioxide contributed to the atmosphere are powerless in isolation.…

Fun

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

I was, as regular readers know, in the U.S. Air Force. I was a crypto specialist. Top Secret stuff, code words, all that. Part of the job required reading and…

John Pate on Shocking Abortion Numbers: Death Distributions Show We’re Living LongerMay 27, 2026
If they're just keeping dementia patients alive longer because it's profitable for the medical industrial complex then we're not really…
Robert Sides on Shocking Abortion Numbers: Death Distributions Show We’re Living LongerMay 27, 2026
A totally self-serving question (although, one that I know you could work through). If of no value to the whole,…
~Nona on Shocking Abortion Numbers: Death Distributions Show We’re Living LongerMay 27, 2026
Thank you for this detailed information. I can’t help but wonder what today’s world would look like had we maintained…
Johnno on Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”May 26, 2026
JAMES, YOU FOOL! There ACKSHULLY has been evidence of Ball Lightning on High Definition Video and on the News! https://youtu.be/dMsGHmGxyxo?si=obuqsc5ionM10SGw…
Johnno on Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize OurselvesMay 26, 2026
But how much bacteria is on the surface of a smartphone touch screen? The filthy thing we tap with our…

William M. Briggs

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

How A Miracle Turns Mundane

Contest Winner Announced!

Trump’s Last Stand: Mea Culpa, Redux — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Class 85: Proper Scores of Model Goodness