October 2010 – Page 2 – William M. Briggs

Utilitarianism, Halloween, and Phantasm

Jeremy Benthem The Tall Man Halloween is coming, and that means it's time to consider frightening things. And what over the past two centuries has been more horrific than the…

Culture

The Corporatization of the University: Part III — Guest Post By Agnes Larson

Agnes Larson is a long-time university insider. This article is Part III of a three-part series. Read Part I, Part II. Prevalence of Differential Wage Corporations are frequently under fire…

Culture

The Corporatization of the University: Part II — Guest Post By Agnes Larson

Agnes Larson is a long-time university insider. This article is Part II of a three-part series. Read Part I, Part III Layoffs and Workforce Planning A time-honored corporate method of…

Culture

The Corporatization of the University: Part I — Guest Post By Agnes Larson

Agnes Larson is a long-time university insider. This article is Part I of a three-part series. Read Part II, Part III Background As early as 1918 Thorstein Veblen bemoaned the…

Statistics

How To Cheat With Graphics: Paul Krugman Style

Thanks to reader Doug Magowan for bringing this to our attention. In his New York Times blog "The Conscience of a Liberal", the far-left economist Paul Krugman presented these graphs…

Philosophy Statistics

The Dismal Economics of Utopia: Lesson One

This originally appeared in Pajamas Media. I thought it was a natural follow-up to yesterday's post about the odd economic situation in France. The content below has been edited, but…

Culture Statistics

France Strikes Over Increasing Retirement Age: The Meta-Economics of Success

France is into its third or fourth day of striking over President Nicolas Sarkozy's bold plan to increase the retirement age from 60 to a whopping 62. Of course, striking…

Statistics

Why So Many (Medical) Studies Based On Statistics Are Wrong

This was inspired by the (unfortunately titled) article Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science, publishing in this month's Atlantic (thanks A&LD!). The article profiles the work of John Ioannidis, who…

Johnno on What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?April 21, 2026
" I have never been a conspiracy theorist, for the simple fact that keeping secrets with multiple (tens, hundreds, and…
Brian (bulaoren) on What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?April 20, 2026
@Cary Motorcycle accident? No, that was due to covid.
Cary D Cotterman on What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?April 20, 2026
In the mid '70s I was the janitor at Cal Tech's Kerkhoff Marine Laboratory, where they studied the effects of…
Brian (bulaoren) on What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?April 20, 2026
I'm waiting for members of the California Coastal Commission to start disappearing.
Bill Hankel on What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?April 20, 2026
Thank you for your application of common sense (and math!) to this issue. I have never been a conspiracy theorist,…