Briggs

Replacements for Representation: Bayes From the Ground Up

A primary justification for Bayesian probability is De Finetti's representation theorem, which is stated like this. You are to observe a sequence of 0s and 1s, "failures" and "successes" if…

Philosophy Statistics

Finitism, Physics, Cellular Automata: The Universe as Logic

In no way is this article meant to be complete. It is more in the way of musings---a crude introduction---so that we can see where to go. Is the universe…

Philosophy Statistics

Postmodernism and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

Since I am, by nature, a compassionate individual, I had been thinking of how we might Sokal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). It is for their…

Statistics

Feigned Surprises of the Week: Journolist and Our New Tax

Said the main-stream journalist on Journolist, "If they of the right wing don't behave and treat our Golden Boy properly, we'll call them racists. It matters not whom we pick…

Fun Statistics

A Bust—I mean must—Read; Or, An Evolution in Bra Sizes

"Excuse me, miss. Would you care to participate in science?" Sometimes being a statistician is enviable. In a flash of scientific brilliance, Australian statisticians have just completed a massive study…

Fun Statistics

M. Night Shyamalan, Mel Gibson, and John Wayne

Part II of the Two-Envelope problem was not too friendly, so here's something that is. Via HotAir, I came across the site Marginal Revolution, in which was featured a graph…

Philosophy Statistics

The Two-Envelope Problem Solution: Part II

Read Part I first. We are in the peek first game here. The distribution of N When X is odd, and all X are discrete, we know we should always…

Philosophy Statistics

The Two-Envelope Problem Solution: Part I

Another probability "paradox", the two-envelope problem1, goes like this: Before you are two envelopes, A and B. One of them contains $X and the other $2X (which is equivalent to…

Dana on Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?March 30, 2026
I read a prediction sometime ago that by 2075, religion as we know it will not exist. Maybe there will…
C-Marie on Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?March 30, 2026
Do read up on Pope Benedict XVI and more, and Pope John Paul II .... do a search for "Catholic…
Uncle Mike on Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?March 30, 2026
There have been many bad popes, but also many wonderful ones. Pope Saint John Paul II was, well, saintly. His…
Brian (bulaoren) on Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?March 30, 2026
If our rights derive from God, and if the pope is God's primary interlocutor (Pontifax Maximus) can we sue the…
Robert Arvanitis on Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?March 30, 2026
You are correct in one point. The American enterprise, unlike all previous societies, is for all Men. Not based on…