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…

John Pate on Whoring For Climate ChangeSeptember 24, 2026
Until we get back to burning heretics at the stake I don't see any solution to this kind of behaviour.
John Pate on Lady Academics Tire Of Being Judged By Peer ReviewSeptember 24, 2026
Private companies still run enormous R&D labs but they're funded by black budget "defence" appropriations doing the Devil's work. They…
Cary Cotterman on Whoring For Climate ChangeSeptember 24, 2026
Brosch and his ilk don't know squat about "scientific facts". They deal in pseudoscientific nonsense.
McChuck on Whoring For Climate ChangeSeptember 24, 2026
I refuse, on general principles, to use the Left's Newspeak. She is a whore, or prostitute if we're being polite.…
Tars Tarkas on Whoring For Climate ChangeSeptember 23, 2026
"And who better to help relay the urgency of climate change than sex workers? “ I hate the widespread use…