June 2014 – William M. Briggs

Do You Believe In Global Warming Because Of The Seriousness Of The Charges?

An activist tells you, "Based on my theory of rampant, out-of-control global warming, otters, driven mad by the heat, will take to the streets and destroy mankind, just like apes…

Philosophy SAMT

Summary Against Modern Thought: Potency, Actuality, & Movement

See the first post in this series for an explanation and guide of our tour of Summa Contra Gentiles. Previous post. Last time we only proved one premise, that some…

Statistics

Class Report: How Not To Teach Statistics

It's over. Two solid weeks of 9 to 5 to 9 and beyond statistics. Plus a few cocktails and cookouts and camaraderie. I'm exhausted. The students are mostly later early…

Culture Philosophy

From Paganism To Christianity To Deism To Malleism

Pagans---the word is not an insult---believed that God was immanent. If you've seen Star Wars, you have it. "The Force" was God, and The Force was everything. To quote that…

Culture Statistics

Casual Sex Is Good for You, Says New Biased Study

In a ridiculously biased "study", a researcher has shown that some college students who self-select to participate in a study of "causal" sex and who say they like having "casual"…

Philosophy Statistics

Probabilities Aren’t Decisions

The title says it all. But its presence implies, and it is true, that people often mistake the two. If you decide to bet fifty bucks the USA beats Germany,…

Philosophy Statistics

The Biggest Error In Regression

I know, I know: we're sick to death of regression, but we have to cover the biggest error, which is how the Deadly Sin of Reification happens. You have a…

Philosophy Statistics

Free Will The Result Of ‘Background Noise’?

Once again the lack of metaphysical training has led some scientists to say an incredibly silly thing. That free will "could be the result of 'background noise' in the brain."…

MikeW on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 16, 2026
There are many ways to reconcile alleged contradictions in the Bible, including the staff issue (which is not a particularly…
C-Marie on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
"Memories flag, you see,....." , BUT the Holy Spirit does not flag at all , and He It was Who…
Brian (bulaoren) on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
Should these (percieved) inconsistencies negate the whole body of teaching? I once knew a couple who were profoundly opposed to…
bmiller on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
What seems odd to me is that if he was once so fiercely committed to believing but concluded he was…
Cary D Cotterman on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
I'm still hung up on the staff issue. It doesn't make much sense for someone to tell you not to…