Posted inStatistics
Influential Forecasts
If I tell you that the price of a stock is going to increase and you believe me enough to rush out and buy that stock, the price of that…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Are We In The Midst Of A Global Extinction Event?
"All Life Ends! Amphibians, Cartilaginous Fishes Hardest Hit." That was the headline yesterday in newspapers all over the country as editors reacted to a press release from Science magazine which…
Posted inCulture Statistics
Statistics Exam #2
Here as promised, word for word1, is the second exam I gave my introductory statistics students. A prerequisite for the class was at least "Pre calculus". I emphasize---in italics!---that I…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
I’m Happy To Help, Judith Curry: Overconfidence In IPCC’s Detection And Attribution
Thanks to reader Roger Cohen for brining this to my attention. Atmospheric scientist Judith Curry recently ran a series of blog posts entitled, "Overconfidence in IPCC’s detection and attribution." In…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Utilitarianism, Halloween, and Phantasm
Jeremy Benthem The Tall Man Halloween is coming, and that means it's time to consider frightening things. And what over the past two centuries has been more horrific than the…
Posted inStatistics
How To Cheat With Graphics: Paul Krugman Style
Thanks to reader Doug Magowan for bringing this to our attention. In his New York Times blog "The Conscience of a Liberal", the far-left economist Paul Krugman presented these graphs…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
The Dismal Economics of Utopia: Lesson One
This originally appeared in Pajamas Media. I thought it was a natural follow-up to yesterday's post about the odd economic situation in France. The content below has been edited, but…
Posted inCulture Statistics
France Strikes Over Increasing Retirement Age: The Meta-Economics of Success
France is into its third or fourth day of striking over President Nicolas Sarkozy's bold plan to increase the retirement age from 60 to a whopping 62. Of course, striking…