Statistics – Page 270 – William M. Briggs

British Judge Rules Against Bayes’s Theorem

A British judge has thrown a use of Bayes's rule out of his court. Not only that, his honor (Lordship?) ruled "against using similar statistical analysis in the courts in…

Culture Statistics

What Are The Chances Of War With China?

By the year 2012, or 2017, or 2022, what are the chances China's military engages US forces? Difficult question. But one which is better than asking the title question---because nobody…

Book review Culture Philosophy Statistics

Jeffrey Sachs Saves The World

The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity by Jeffrey Sachs Says Jeffrey Sachs, economics professor at Columbia, "Economic theory indeed supports the view that high tax rates…

Philosophy Statistics

Robert Heinlein And Evolving Probabilities

Writer Stephen Dawson, a long-time participant at this blog, wrote and asked the following: In his The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein had his intelligent computer calculate the…

Statistics

The Implications Of Yesterday’s Global Warming Post

There was nothing in the world wrong with my scientific paper "Global Warming Increases Disastrous Music: A Scientific Paper." Nothing, that is, that isn't wrong with any paper which seeks,…

Statistics

Global Warming Increases Disastrous Music: A Scientific Paper

A scientific paper in a grand tradition (notice the scientific formatting and use of p-values): the custom is to read only the Abstract; only the brave and bored should venture…

Culture Philosophy Statistics

Are Humans As Violent As In The Good Old Days?

If we had records of massacres as we have meteorological records, don't you think we might discover their internal laws, after several centuries of observation? --- Joseph de Maistre. There…

Statistics

New Paper Shows Statistical Errors At 50% to 100% In Peer-Reviewed Neuroscience Journals

The error is often reported like this: "The percentage of neurons showing cue-related activity increased with training in mutant mice (P < 0.05), but not in control mice (P >…

Cary D Cotterman on Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize OurselvesMay 18, 2026
I just read an article based on "studies" that attempted to panic me about the potential deadliness of down-filled pillows…
Brian (bulaoren) on Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize OurselvesMay 18, 2026
Threat avoidance seems pretty instinctual. Threat awareness, on the other hand, depends upon the scope of information before us. Sadly,…
Tars Tarkas on Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize OurselvesMay 18, 2026
"What are these airy indefinite words? Propaganda, that’s what." Propaganda is the default setting for the English language press. Most…
Tony Cooke on Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize OurselvesMay 18, 2026
The description of the possible transfer of the Hanta virus reminded me of the woman who sang "I danced with…
The Errors of Mr. Coffin on the PP signature and Apostolic Blessings – Roma Locuta Est on Munus, Ministerium & Pope Emeritus Benedict — Guest Post by Fr John RickertMay 16, 2026
[…] However, for the record I will note that myself and others (e.g., Ryan Grant, and Fr. John Rickert, HERE…