Statistics – Page 298 – William M. Briggs

The Truth of Things: When Probability & Statistics Cannot Be Used

I am always struggling with (my limited ability of) finding ways to describe the philosophy behind logical probability, especially to people who have a difficult time unlearning classical frequentist theory.…

Fun Statistics

Poem Code Challenge Solution

Back in September we surrendered to our geek roots and described poem codes. These are a handy method of enciphering short messages in the absence of electronic equipment. A poem…

Philosophy Statistics

Is Experimental Economics Irrational?

Everybody knows there's no such thing as money. So how come everybody acts like it's real? In particular, why do economists and other similar creatures find the lack of "rationality"…

Statistics

My Answers to Willis Eschenbach’s 14 + 2 Questions

Repost Mr Eschenbach had not had the chance to respond to this article before the two weeks wherein comments are automatically closed have elapsed. This re-post will allow him, and…

Statistics

What Can Volcanic Dust Models Tell Us About Cap & Trade?

Say Eyjafjallajokull three times fast. I wish I could say it once. I've heard it in so many different forms since it blew its stack that I can't be sure…

Statistics

The Pournelle vs. Nolan Chart: Political Throwdown

Before Jerry Pournelle began writing science fiction; before, that is, he teamed with Larry Niven to write the classic Lucifer's Hammer1, he was a political scientist. Pournelle was dissatisfied with…

Statistics

Russia Subtracted Most People; India Added Most.

It's Friday and time for something light. In 2006, Russia lost 732,000 people. Don't bother searching for them, because most of them were never born. Its neighbor Ukraine also misplaced…

Statistics

Pajamas Media: The Dismal Economics of Utopia

Today's post is at Pajamas Media: The Dismal Economics of Utopia. This is first is a short series. I thought it would be fun to show how the utopian ideas…

Cary D Cotterman on On Not ReadingMarch 11, 2026
I'm at least your age, probably older, and I read both novels and non fiction constantly. I've made the mistake…
Peter Aiello on On Not ReadingMarch 11, 2026
When I was growing up, being an avid reader was touted as the way to success in life. I was…
McChuck on On Not ReadingMarch 11, 2026
It's not just you. SciFi and Fantasy died in the 1980's, and was buried under a mountain of dreck in…
NLR on The Great Smoothing: Another Reason Not To Fear (or trust) AIMarch 11, 2026
"AI" will not come alive, but also, it has been over three years and none of the "AI" predictions have…
Johnno on The Great Smoothing: Another Reason Not To Fear (or trust) AIMarch 10, 2026
I'm panicking about the people who believe enthusiastically in the capabilities of the AI that the other people are panicking…