Statistics – Page 296 – William M. Briggs

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…

Statistics

St Petersburg Paradox; Games and Statistical Decisions; RIP David Blackwell

David Blackwell, who died two weeks ago, was one of the first mainstream statisticians to "go Bayesian." And for that and his unique skill in clearly explaining difficult ideas, we…

Statistics

How to Fool Yourself—And Others—With Statistics

See the news box to the left. I wrote this long ago and never used it. I do not love it. But since I am so busy, I haven't the…

Statistics

US Military Fatality Statistics: Have Suicides Increased?

All statistics were gathered from this DOD site. 2010 numbers were current as of 5 June this year; they were not part of the plots below. In 1983, the year…

Fun Statistics

World Cup Predictions Verified

All that was missing was the water for the players to plunge into. Still, referee Howard Webb must be a fan of the aquatic and artistic sport of diving, and…

Johnno on How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain PowerMay 6, 2026
Hence we descriptively say in plural... a "calamity of victims." Or a "catastrophe of Expurts." Or an "academy of failures."…
Brian (bulaoren) on How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain PowerMay 6, 2026
So, three circumlocutors walk into a bar...
Cary D Cotterman on How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain PowerMay 6, 2026
When an academic paper has "intersectional," "decolonial," "disabilities," "intersect," "social," "structural," "injustices," and "diverse" in one sentence, you know you've…
Bill Hankel on How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain PowerMay 6, 2026
I decided to accept your challenge, knowing with near certainty that your intuition was correct. I invested 15-20 seconds total…
C-Marie on Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI PachinkoMay 5, 2026
Sooo sad about Richard Dawkins. I just prayed for Holy Spirit revelation of Jesus Christ to him. Here is hoping…