July 2011 – Page 3 – William M. Briggs

The Economic Fallacy, Greenpeace, David Suzuki, And Global Warming

"You can't believe what that guy says. He research was funded by Greenpeace!" The person uttering this sentence has committed the economic fallacy, which is the belief that the truth…

Book review

Earth Has A Fever: How Can We Cool It?

Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change by Judy McAllister, Erik van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest With Foreword by Hazel Henderson and Preface, by Jacqueline Cramer, Minister for…

Philosophy Statistics

Bathroom Stage Fright A “Real Condition” : Scientists Again Prove What Was Already Known

In standard science-report prose, MSNBC begins: Given the choice, you probably prefer your home porcelain throne to using a public toilet. But for more than 20 million people in North…

Fun Statistics

Does Second To Fourth Digit Ratio Predict You-Know-What Length?

From the storied Halls of Science comes an important new study, here abstracted from the Asian Journal of Andrology1. I apologize for the length of this excerpt, but it is…

Philosophy Statistics

Casey Anthony And The Probability of Guilt

What is the probability that Casey Anthony is guilty of murder? High, but according to twelve men and women honest and true, not high enough. High enough is supposed to…

Statistics

New Editorial Against Editorializing In Science Journals

The editorial is mine, Willie Soon's, David Legates's, and Bob Carter's, and it appears in the latest edition of Water, Air, & Soil Pollution. It's entitled "A Vaccine Against Arrogance"…

Culture Statistics

Title IX And Campus Equality

Under Title IX, a woman is entitled to equal access to everything on a college campus. That includes being safe. The most devastating thing is a young girl who reports…

Culture

San Francisco, Banning Capitol: Adds Pets To Forbidden List

The uber-enlightened which are the San Francisco city council and its hangers on have banned: McDonald's Happy Meals (they objected to kids being happy), cigarette smoking nearly everywhere (they refuse…

spaceranger on Impossible LSAT Statistics QuestionFebruary 4, 2026
I usually go with "b." or "Asia" on those multiple choice ones.
Cary D Cotterman on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
Polar bears have existed for at least half a million years, and possibly as long as a million. They have…
Brian (bulaoren) on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
Dr. Briggs I was afraid I'd hijacked your subject today with my, rather dark, "Walter Lantz" cartoon. Returning to your…
Brian (bulaoren) on Polar Bears Are Doing Fine: Activists, Not So WellFebruary 4, 2026
While we're on the subject of "Ursus Maritimus"; In 1987, a group of amusement denied boys decided to make an…
hudbwu on Impossible LSAT Statistics QuestionFebruary 3, 2026
> But that’s because the setup is itself weird. It contains the implicit premise that more beliefs equals better survival,…