WE CONTINUE The consensus---and we never buck consensii; consensuses?---was to keep these updates going for the time being, but expanding their scope. I have therefore cut back on some of…

NOTHING MORTAL GOES FOREVER Should we quit these updates? I know I've grown sick of them. Are you? Maybe replace them with articles when warranted, such as what our dear…

I've used this gimmick many times, so regular readers, please, shhh. I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 4. What is it? To you the number is random, because…

UNCERTAINTY REQUIREMENTS If you say a calamity will befall me, and ask me to pay to protect against it, the burden is on you to (a) prove the calamity is…

A new walks-into-a-bar joke begins (thanks to reader Kip Hansen for the tip): A mathematician, a philosopher and a gambler walk into a bar. As the barman pulls each of…

Lost count of the number of "studies" that feel---not think---that they must invoke terror to justify their undertaking. Take this peer-reviewed gem from Nature Communications by Robbie M. Parks and…