Statistics – Page 250 – William M. Briggs

Why Do Statisticians Answer Silly Questions That No One Ever Asks?

Julian Champkin, editor of Significance magazine somehow came across the percipient insights of yours truly and asked me to write l'article controversé. Which I did. And with gusto. Champkin, a…

Philosophy Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 11—Rewrite, Red Wine, Hat Clips

We started by learning that probability is hard and not always quantifiable. For instance, I imagine many of you would have judged it more likely than not that the Supreme…

Philosophy Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 9—Hypothesis Testing: Part II

A review. We have sales data from two campaigns, A and B, data in which we choose (as a premise) to quantify our uncertainty with normal distributions. We assume the…

Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 8—Hypothesis Testing: Part I

Hypothesis testing nicely encapsulates all that is wrong with frequentist statistics. It is a procedure which hides the most controversial assumption/premise. It operates under a "null" belief which nobody believes.…

Philosophy Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 7

The joke is old and hoary and so well known that I risk the reader's ire for repeating it. But it contains a damning truth. Most academic statistical studies are…

Philosophy Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 6

(I'm assuming you have been reading previous posts. If not, do so.) We still want this: (1) Pr (Distance > 1 meter | normal with m and s specified)…

Philosophy Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 5

Let's make sure we grasped yesterday's lesson. Emails and comments suggest we have not. These concepts are hardest for those who have only had classical training. We want to know…

Philosophy Statistics

Teaching Journal: Day 4

Today is the quietest day, a time when all is still, a moment when nary a voice is raised and, quite suddenly, appointments are remembered, people have to be seen,…

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,…
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…
C-Marie on Blessed Memorial Day; No Class; See You WednesdayMay 24, 2026
God bless you, dear Matt, and all yours, all the days, and thank you for your faithfulness to our Father,…