March 2011 – Page 3 – William M. Briggs

Earthquake Ghouls, Colleges As High Schools, The Robinson DeFazio Controversy, More

J-school Ghouls On the radio, a female American reporter in Tokyo, unnecessarily breathless and somewhat disappointed. "I can only imagine if it were here, it would have been much worse…

Philosophy

The Sorites Paradox Isn’t

Clearly, a guy with no hair on his head is bald. But so is a guy with just one---if and only if we define bald as "a man with little…

Philosophy Statistics

Group Differences: An Exceedingly Brief Introduction To Bayesian Predictive Inference

Read the first entry in this series. All of what follows will appear ridiculously obvious to those who have had no statistical training. Those who have must struggle. In a…

Statistics

Iowahawk Does Statistics—-Properly!

Thanks to the many readers who sent in this tip. The Iowahawk, a.k.a. David Burge, the beloved assassin of pomposity and pretension has taken the often hysterical Paul "Global Warming…

Philosophy Statistics

Global Average Temperature: An Exceedingly Brief Introduction To Bayesian Predictive Inference

Update This post is mandatory reading for those discussing global average temperature. I mean it: exceedingly brief and given only with respect to a univariate time series, such as operationally…

Statistics

Global Average Temperature: What It Isn’t

Update See also: Global Average Temperature: An Exceedingly Brief Introduction To Bayesian Predictive Inference Word is going round that Richard Muller is leading a group of physicists, statisticians, and climatologists…

Culture Statistics

TSA Expands Jurisdiction To Sidewalks: Where Is The Left?

"Sir? Please step over here. You need to be x-rayed." "What? Get outta my way. Who are you?" said the man. "Sir, please step over to the machine. You have…

Culture

Reaction To The Latest Attack In Frankfurt

The spin from the military and from the Obama government regarding Army Major Nidal Hasan's bloody Allahu Akbarization of Fort Hood said he was a troubled man, influenced only by…

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,…