Posted inStatistics
On That New “Gay Gene” Study
First and most important point: there is no way we're going to cover in 750 words the whole of this field. Much will be left out. This small article is…
Posted inStatistics
Exposure To Fracking Reduces Low-Birth-Weight Babies
Shouldn't a peer-reviewed paper which purports to tie chemicals produced in the manufacture of natural gas (fracking etc.) to birth defects actually measure exposure (of fetus carriers, i.e. "mothers") to…
Posted inStatistics
Paper Claims Surprisingly Strong Link Between Climate Change And Violence. Nonsense.
When does more crime happen, in winter or summer? Why? Too easy. How about this one: according to the FBI, what was the violent crime rate over time? No need…
Posted inStatistics
A Common, Unfortunate, Avoidable, Devastating Error In Statistics
It's a doozy, this error of ours. So ubiquitous is it that it's hardly noticeable. Yet it is sinking us into scientism and wild overconfidence. Every time it appears, both…
Posted inStatistics
Nonpolitical Images Evoke Neural Predictors Of Political Ideology?
The study Another day, another dreary study purporting to show that the brains of "conservatives" are different than those of "liberals." This one hooked up to an electrical phrenology device…
Posted inStatistics
That Innovation Is Negatively Correlated With Religion Study
Quick Quiz O' The Day: What do you get when you marry an abysmal knowledge of history, a sublime narcissism, an ignorance of the nature of evidence, a perverse hatred…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
Another Academic Calls For Shorter People To Battle Global Warming
Academic philosopher S Matthew Liao (NYU) and pals are coming to get you. They want to monkey with your genes, kill your unwanted, inject growth-stunting hormones into your womb, poison…
Posted inStatistics
A Wandering Mind Is An Unhappy Mind?
The gentleman who runs Shadow To Light asked me to take a look at a paper which Sam Harris approvingly quoted. The 2010 peer-reviewed one-page paper shares today's title (sans…
