Posted inStatistics
Making Up Data To Prove Models?
There is this idea in statistics called the "bootstrap." The idea is not crazy, but it's not quite right either. Works like this: data comes in, and usually some parameterized…
Posted inStatistics
Why Bayes Is Not The Fix We Need: A Critique of Bayesian Inference and its Application
I've pointed out many times some of the weaknesses of traditional statistical practices, and how the routine use of "hypothesis testing" leads to an ever-growing mountain of Broken Science. Some…
Posted inStatistics
A Doctor Reveals His Wee P
You go into the doc's office. He's not looking happy. He's holding your chart. "Mr Smith, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you." Give it to me straight,…
Posted inPhilosophy
Doom For The Doomsday Argument
Heard of the Doomsday Argument, sometimes also called the Carter Catastrophe? It claims to be able to name the date, with a certain confidence, at which mankind dies off. It…
![“Why Didn’t Use You The [fill in the blank] Model On That NZ Data, Briggs?”](https://i0.wp.com/www.wmbriggs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/nz.webp?fit=700%2C466&ssl=1)
Posted inStatistics
“Why Didn’t Use You The [fill in the blank] Model On That NZ Data, Briggs?”
"Hey, Briggs. I saw your take on the leaked New Zealand vaccine data. Interesting. But why didn't you use [Insert My Favorite Statistics Model Here]?" [Blog, Substack mirror.] I'll tell…
Posted inStatistics
Quick Post Today: New Zealand Vax Data Analysis In Progress: Your Ideas?
I've finished an analysis of the New Zealand vax data. But since tempers are hot on this, and the subject is important, I want to be sure I haven't missed…
Posted inStatistics
Coal Dust Is Claimed To Kill Old People: A New Instance of the Epidemiologist Fallacy
There are a lot of new readers, and many may not yet have heard of the epidemiologist fallacy. Few tools have been as productive at generating The Science. You know…
Posted inFun
Humpty Dumpty Takes On The Sports Illustrated Curse — Guest Post by Jim Fedako
We continue our Thanksgiving week of pleasant stories, today with a guest post by Jim Fedako. “When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it…