William M. Briggs

The Showman’s Courtship: Guest Post By Artemus Ward

Artemus Ward, who wrote this piece circa 1858, was a showman and writer who toured these great United States with his artistic exhibition, which consisted of "three moral Bares, a…

Statistics

Italian Scientists On Trial For Manslaughter After Failing To Predict Earthquake

Seven Italian geologists have been hauled before an Italian judge---whether in chains or no, we are not informed---and charged with the heinous crime of manslaughter. Specifically, these men are being…

Philosophy Statistics

Proving What You Want To Believe

You can always find a way to believe anything. That "always" is strict---the magic of belief, like a card trick with a gaffed deck, can always be worked. But just…

Statistics

The Myth Of Killer Mercury: Guest Post By Willie Soon & Paul Driessen

Willie Soon has graciously allowed us to reprint his and Paul Driessen's editorial that ran in the 25 May 2011 Wall Street Journal. Dr Soon received double our normal rate…

Culture Statistics

India Aborting Girls At Full Speed: Sex Selection And Demographics

Science is great. It---"it" is always an it, an invisible entity, a guiding sapience, an intelligence that can be looked to for guidance---can now us tell the sex of a…

Culture Fun

Parents Raising Child As ‘It’

When I first saw that the website with the story of parents raising "gender free" kids ended in ".ca", I thought for sure it came from California. But---Holy Saskatchewan---it's Canada!…

Philosophy Statistics

The Trolley Problem And Experimental Philosophy

The Trolley Problem, as given by Eric Schwitzgebel (as part of a larger survey): You are standing by the railroad tracks when you notice an empty boxcar rolling out of…

Culture Statistics

Wishcasting The End Of The World: Update

Wishcasting is when a forecast or prediction is shaded in the direction the forecaster or predictor wants the event to happen. For example, if you forecast this weekend's weather, you…

Anthony Probst on Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement Should Be Covert Says Academic Who Says Ticks Should Be Genetically Modified To Stop You Eating MeatAugust 13, 2025
Check his basement, yes. Then check his belfry for bats. Internal papers of the MK-ULTRA schemers must have had a…
Eyrie on Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement Should Be Covert Says Academic Who Says Ticks Should Be Genetically Modified To Stop You Eating MeatAugust 12, 2025
“Miranda!” I wondered how long before a Firefly reference turned up. "It's the Pax!"
gareth on Lady Pilots Better Than Men, Says The ScienceAugust 12, 2025
Yes, papers like these are bollocks. And DIE should die. However: As a GA pilot myself (power & sailplane), and…
Cary Cotterman on Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement Should Be Covert Says Academic Who Says Ticks Should Be Genetically Modified To Stop You Eating MeatAugust 12, 2025
I'm still laughing at the image of a flock of extra-terrestrial Odiles descending upon the planet.
Cary Cotterman on Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement Should Be Covert Says Academic Who Says Ticks Should Be Genetically Modified To Stop You Eating MeatAugust 12, 2025
And one day you're the last Normal left, running wild-eyed down the highway like Kevin McCarthy at the end of…

William M. Briggs

Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement Should Be Covert Says Academic Who Says Ticks Should Be Genetically Modified To Stop You Eating Meat

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