2012 – Page 36 – William M. Briggs

Let’s Try This Time Series Thing Again: Part III

Part I, II, III, IV, V. The objection which will occur to those, Lord help them, who have had some statistical training is that "increased" means a combination of "linear…

Philosophy Statistics

Let’s Try This Time Series Thing Again: Part II

Part I, II, III, IV, V. Before us are the observations X1 to X156. Recall we are assuming that each of these X has been measured without any error. Given…

Statistics

Let’s Try This Time Series Thing Again: Part I

This series originally began 5 February 2012. Part I, II, III, IV, V. We've gone on and on about how to think about time series, but we are having trouble…

Philosophy Statistics

On Corrections In Science

Somebody attributed to Max Planck, a constant1 source of wisdom, the saying that science advances funeral by funeral. This is a pithy condensation of his more famous quotation: A new…

Culture Fun Statistics

Should Scientists Be Held Legally Responsible for Their Results?

That title is lifted from Popular Science's brief article. The idea is that scientists---as philosopher Christopher Essex reminded me, just like doctors and accountants and businessmen and engineers and everybody…

Statistics

On Global Warming Apoplexy: Temperature Trends

It is a sure sign that Sanity has packed her bags and headed for the door when otherwise sober scientists begin slinging around terms like "denier" and "denialist." Language like…

Fun Statistics

How To Maximize The Chance Of Winning The Office Super Bowl Pool

Forget climatology. It's time for something really controversial. How to fill in those grid squares on the Super Bowl office pool. An example of one is shown below. The full…

Statistics

Bad Astronomer Does Bad Statistics: That Wall Street Journal Editorial

Remember when I said how you shouldn't draw straight lines in time series and then speak of the line as if the line was the data itself? About how the…

Hun on On Laws Banning Hacking Women’s Genitals & Imposing BeliefsJanuary 9, 2026
What about male genital mutilation? It's common practice in the US for some reason. Actually, the reason is obvious and…
Don B on Register Your Predictions For 2026!January 9, 2026
1. THIS will be the year the long-awaited, often predicted bear will hit the U.S. stock market, precipitating similar bears…
John Pate on Class 75: A Gentle Introduction To Time SeriesJanuary 8, 2026
The amusing thing is one of the facilitators of China's rise is its falling fertility, giving it the breathing space…
Neil Taylor on Register Your Predictions For 2026!January 8, 2026
1. A protester will open fire and kill multiple ICE agents. 2. Kier Starmer will loose his job as leader…
Uncle Mike on Class 75: A Gentle Introduction To Time SeriesJanuary 8, 2026
Well then Tars, if depopulating China is your goal, they should definitely end restrictions on births. Because the fewer the…