Briggs

How Presidential Polls Work: D+7 or R-3 And All That

Unleash the polls! No, I don't mean the men who bravely served under Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło (free bad joke of the day!), but those election omens…

Fun

Boo!

Culture Philosophy

Women Do Not Have A Right To Do Whatever They Want With Their Bodies

Over the weekend Yours Truly tweeted this: https://twitter.com/mattstat/status/262583368246497280 Within five minutes of posting, I lost seven Twitter followers, people presumably displeased with the entry. Since this is me, I first…

Statistics

Nate Silver’s Obama Prediction: What Does It Mean?

It was Sophocles who first noted the truism, "No one loves the messenger who brings bad news." But the converse is also true. As it is written (in Romans 10:15),…

Culture

The Downside Of Technology: Being On Call 24/7—Guest Post by The Blonde Bombshell (with pic!)

Let me first say that I am a modest person with a modest existence. I have a job, which is nothing special, but I do it well. I have a…

Philosophy

Academic Philosopher Finds New Way To Dehumanize People; Calls For Beetroot Liberation

Update Now with new and improved title! (Title writing is a talent which your humble author possesses not.) In the classic 1978 documentary Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! we watch…

Statistics

Intrade’s Record In Picking Presidents: Is There Market Manipulation?

An "influential forecast" is one in which knowledge of the prediction changes the uncertainty in the thing being predicted. Consider a (respected) political opinion poll which announces Candidate B has…

Culture

Italian Scientists Convicted! Shocked That Their Predictions Were Heeded

Do you feel that chill? It's from a fell wind issuing from an Italian judge's courtroom, where he has just sent a group of seismologists and one politician to the…

McChuck on The Apples In A Sack Paradox: Solve It Or You Get No Pie TomorrowNovember 26, 2025
There are apples in the sack at midnight. I offer three distinct proofs. 1) The countably infinite steps are (+10…
Heresolong on The Apples In A Sack Paradox: Solve It Or You Get No Pie TomorrowNovember 26, 2025
This is why I hate probability. But here's my take, and I'll go with P=0. Each action, addition and removal,…
The Apples In A Sack Paradox: Solve It Or You Get No Pie Tomorrow – William M. Briggs on How To Resolve All Probability Paradoxes: Apples In Sack ExampleNovember 26, 2025
[…] A version of this post first appeared on 30 October 2017. […]
Rex8or Legitimax Prime on Antichrist, by Saint Robert BellarmineNovember 26, 2025
All those religions based texts are a combination of fiction, politics, philosophy and living life advice, that sort of thing.…
hudbwu on Antichrist, by Saint Robert BellarmineNovember 26, 2025
@Uncle Mike: the thing with prophecies in the Book of Revelation (and really all Biblical prophecies) is that they come…