Statistics – Page 253 – 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,…

Willis Eschenbach on Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap HanekampJuly 23, 2026
Thanks as always, Matt. I'd be interested in your (or anyone's) comments on my post below about the Precautionary Principle.…
Steve on $7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?July 23, 2026
Add a few more priors and the odds skyrocket. 7/11 knew about the July 11 thing -- it says right…
Tars Tarkas on $7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?July 23, 2026
If you can, can you do the example of the Hooker Chemical Love Canal allegedly random cancer cluster in children?…
Tim on Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap HanekampJuly 23, 2026
I enjoyed this discussion. I am very interested in hearing you gentlemen continue discussing nitrogen.
John Pate on Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap HanekampJuly 22, 2026
Considering "climate change" went out the window when the powers that be wanted more data centres I'm sure the Precautionary…