January 2008 – Page 5 – William M. Briggs

Mr. Word’s definition of the day: to gush

"To make a sentimental or untimely exhibition of affection; to display enthusiasm in a silly, demonstrative manner." -- Webster, 1913. For example, this snippet from today's New York Times editorial.…

Statistics

73.2% of Likely Voters Believe Poll Results

Pollster: Who will you vote for? Civilian: Oh, I don't know; that guy, the tall one. Pollster: I'll put you down for Obama. The elections in Iowa are over and…

Oil prices through time: a well-done graph

Source: Wall Street Journal This image, shrunk 50% from it's original size, is a very well-done statistical graph. It shows, in the pale green line, the inflation-adjusted price of a…

Frank Furedi on the global warming apocalypse

Frank Fuerdi, of Spiked Online, has a delightful article on the daily barrage of panic we hear, in which he says, "In the past year, the threat of doom ?…

Book review

Calculated Risks: How to know when numbers deceive you: Gerd Gigerenzer

Gerd Gigerenzer, Simon and Schuster, New York, 310 pp., ISBN 0-7432-0556-1, $25.00 Should healthy women get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer? The surprising answer, according to this wonderful…

Johnno on Belgian Judge Wants To Arrest Little Nate Cofnast Because Cofnast Says Smart People Are Smarter Than Dumb PeopleApril 2, 2026
Has this Pierre perhaps considered that it is the light of Belgian criminal law and more specifically the anti-racism law…
Johnno on There Is No Solution To Crashing Fertility: Good Times Made Soft MenApril 2, 2026
God already foresaw all this. He warned us so in 1916 and provided a solution since 1929, in the run…
JH on There Is No Solution To Crashing Fertility: Good Times Made Soft MenApril 1, 2026
Promoting greater equality at home can be a solution, in addition to offering incentives to involve grandparents, as Frick suggests…
Uncle Mike on There Is No Solution To Crashing Fertility: Good Times Made Soft MenApril 1, 2026
I feel the same way. Tilting at windmills while the sun sets. Impossible dream, unbeatable foe, marching into hell for…
Cloudbuster on There Is No Solution To Crashing Fertility: Good Times Made Soft MenMarch 31, 2026
"How can you deny women what men have?" One simple word: No.