Briggs

Rampant Harassment by Atheists Expected At Reason Rally 2016

The Angry Atheists are meeting today, this time in DC, and evidently they're expecting an uppity crowd, because their Code of Conduct for Reason Rally warns of a host of…

Culture Philosophy

Animals Aren’t Men, Even If Government Says So

I once saw, with mine own eyes, a squirrel steal an acorn from a second squirrel. This shouldn't be surprising; squirrels are career criminals and everybody knows it. Think of…

Philosophy Statistics

The Bayesian Metaphor Can Do More Harm Than Good: Update

Quoting from a post on vampires, "In Bayesian inference, you start with some initial beliefs (called 'Bayesian priors' or just 'priors'), and then you 'update' them as you receive new…

Podcast

Multiverses, Infinities, Probability & The Deadly Sin of Reification — WMBriggs Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZffCuj9ZHA Download MP3 June is Probability Month here at WMBriggs.com, mostly because I'll be teaching (I'll be in Ithaca the 12th to 24th) and want to keep from being distracted…

Philosophy

Stream: Pretend to Believe In Free Will Or Else You Will Make Bad Choices

Today's post is at The Stream: Pretend to Believe In Free Will Or Else You Will Make Bad Choices. I want to be nice about this, but believing that we…

Culture

Church of Scotland Goes For Gmarriage (Government-Defined Marriage)

https://twitter.com/churchscotland/status/733980861905928194 Notice that they couldn't resist that horrid, unnecessary bar graph. The Kirk caved. Dateline Glasgow: "Church of Scotland votes to allow ministers to be in same-sex marriages". The Church…

Philosophy SAMT

Summary Against Modern Thought: Failed Arguments For The Eternity Of The World II

See the first post in this series for an explanation and guide of our tour of Summa Contra Gentiles. All posts are under the category SAMT. Previous post. Format change…

Culture

On The Foreseeable Rise Of ‘White Supremacists’

Two stories with one central theme today, the second one being of more import. Headline one: "Debates Over Buildings Honoring White Supremacists Grow". Research shows that many past personages were…

Brian (bulaoren) on ‘Termination Shock’: Newest Entry In Science Doom Naming ContestOctober 7, 2025
Some wag once compared his critics to eunuchs in a sultan's seraglio; "They see it done all the time, but…
Uncle Mike on ‘Termination Shock’: Newest Entry In Science Doom Naming ContestOctober 7, 2025
I'm not going to drop his name or reveal my age, but a famous author from Oregon once said to…
Cary Cotterman on Changing Clocks In Fall Will Stroke You Out, Fatty: ResearchOctober 6, 2025
I don't really care about the twice-annual time changes. They don't bother me. However, if any change were to be…
cdquarles on Changing Clocks In Fall Will Stroke You Out, Fatty: ResearchOctober 6, 2025
I like daylight time. Where I am in relation to my time zone's prime meridian, at the peak of summer…
Brian (bulaoren) on Changing Clocks In Fall Will Stroke You Out, Fatty: ResearchOctober 6, 2025
Do P values constitute effeminate logic? If so, perhaps they should be called "sit down to P values" (which don't…