Statistics – Page 288 – William M. Briggs

College Students More Loquacious Than Erudite: Vocabulary Test Results

The results of the Great Vocabulary Test of 2010 are in. Two weeks ago, in this thread, after announcing my surprise that no student in any of my classes knew…

Statistics

TSA Cops A Feel: More Bad Statistics

As far as I can discover, Janet "There's Nothing To See Here" Napolitano's newly created policy of feeling up and peeking under the skirts of random airline passengers has not…

Culture Statistics

Texting Leads To Sexting…Leads To Bad Television

Researchers Find What they find is a way to publish yet another study documenting what everybody already knew. According to this article, sent in by reader Jack Mosevich, researchers have…

Statistics

Mandatory National Standards For Salt Content Coming To A Government Near You

What's better: (A) voluntarily reducing your salt intake, or (B) having the government mandate that you do so? Naturally, if you don't opt for A, you get B, which we…

Culture Philosophy Statistics

Eliminating Randomness Reduces Need For God And Increases Belief In Evolution

Caution! The experiment I'm about to explain might increase your belief in God. It should only be attempted by academics who are immune to such deleterious effects. Got a pair…

Book review Fun Statistics

Free Books! Statistics, Psychics

In the same spirit of generosity that led M. Anonymous to donate a Kindle, I am offering the books I have written, if we can agree to honor those scrawlings…

Fun Statistics

Scam Targets Anti-Apartheid Environmentalists Concerned About Climate Change

The headline boomed "CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS FUND ($900.000.00)". Even better, it was sent from the Nelson Mandela Foundation (nmf.unfccc12@att.net). Subject: Climate Change Awareness Fund. The opening line is a teaser,…

Statistics

Certain Oral Activities Linked To Intercourse Onset, New Research Suggests

I am thinking of changing the name of this blog to "New Research Suggests", for these three words begin most press releases announcing dubious "scientific" results. Whoever first thought of…

NLR on UFO Reports About To Blast Off!April 27, 2026
If there really were a species that could travel here from another planet, that would be something totally outside the…
Economist Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: High Energy Prices are ‘Good for the Climate’ | Progress with God on The Consensus That Wasn’t: Less Than 1%, Not 97%April 26, 2026
[…] economist would recognise as market-based. Yet we are told, with straight faces, that the ‘97% consensus‘ demands we accept…
John Pate on Noticing Differences Between Races Does Not PayApril 23, 2026
Ovarian Logic has no relationship to, and is not amenable to, formal logic or considerations of causality and empirical observation.…
C-Marie on Noticing Differences Between Races Does Not PayApril 22, 2026
Well, skin colour is given by God to each of us. And, Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. Let us…
Brian (bulaoren) on Noticing Differences Between Races Does Not PayApril 22, 2026
@Cary I'm not sure what a "Martian giant" is... Elon Musk? I tried Google but all I found was a…