William M. Briggs

Lancet Editor: Half Of Science Is Wrong. An Underestimate?

Half of science may be wrong? That may be an underestimate. But at least Richard Horton, the editor in chief of The Lancet, is in the right ballpark. Ballpark? That…

Culture

Junk Science and Cheap Moralism on the Tiber: The Church And Global Warming

Today's post is at The Stream.org. Junk Science and Cheap Moralism on the Tiber: The Vatican's top science officer lashes out at critics, defending his alliance with abortion advocates and…

Culture

What Went Wrong In Ireland, And What Will Go Wrong Here

What went awry in Ireland was not the result of the vote, a result which was, of course, the wrong decision. The offense was something much deeper, something basic. It…

Fun

Something To Cheer The Irish (And The Rest Of Us)

Given the state of the world, and because this is a long weekend with scarcely anyone around, this picture. It is Bubba Anderson, a (then) girl who went to the…

Culture

The Week In Doom: Nervous Sheep & Intolerant Irish

https://twitter.com/LADFLEG/status/602012010470080512 Return of the snakes As of this writing, Ireland has voted 60%-ish to allow two men or two women---and only two at this point; arbitrary discrimination, no?---to pretend to…

Culture

Gay-conversion Therapy Bans And The Origin Of Homosexual

When "gay" or "homosexual" meant somebody who predominately engaged in same-sex activities, the words had some use, but with an inherent and real danger that people, via this language, would…

Culture

Ireland’s Same-Sex Gmarriage Vote: Or, The Snakes Return?

Update See Saturday's post for results. Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has "no wish to stuff [his] religious views down other people's throats"---is that done with a shillelagh?---and so he won't…

Statistics

Are Wars And Violence Decreasing? Taleb’s New Paper Reviewed

The vale of tears I've been asked by several people to comment on Pasquale Cirillo and Nassim Nicholas Taleb's paper (thankfully, not peer-reviewed, unless you count this) "On the tail…

Rudolph Harrier on Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad DiceDecember 6, 2025
I think the problem is that many people want to have a consistent process above all else. They don't want…
John Pate on Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad DiceDecember 5, 2025
You would have been in your element Briggs. I was quite heavily into the statistics nonsense at the time due…
Briggs on Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad DiceDecember 5, 2025
John, Now that's very interesting. I would have loved to have heard that talk.
John Pate on Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad DiceDecember 5, 2025
This is why I laughed at the nonsense about Casinos using probability. All they care about is the House wins…
Brian (bulaoren) on Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad DiceDecember 4, 2025
So, after a full day, nobody has commented. Well, I tried to wade through it all but, as William Safire…

William M. Briggs

Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad Dice

Academic Proposes Mushrooms To Avoid Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement

The Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Is Wrong: “Guns” are not the leading cause of death in kids

The Perfect Conspiracy Theory

Old Lodge Skins’ Prayer Of Thanksgiving

The Apples In A Sack Paradox: Solve It Or You Get No Pie Tomorrow

Antichrist, by Saint Robert Bellarmine

Donald vs Ishmael vs Esau — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Class 72: Most Claims Of “Controlled For” Are Wrong: The Wrong Way

Black Women Can’t Do Physics As Well As White Men, Says Researcher

On That “Bombshell German Study” That “Exposes the PCR Test Fraud That Locked Down the World”

Masking Morality With Science: Men Pretending To Be Women In Sports

Why Study Probability?

The Dysgenics Of IVF

In Which An Atheist Becomes Sputteringly Angry Over Theist’s Argument

Academics Debate Which Term Best Describes Those Who Love (in that way) Their Pillows

Class 71: Never Trust ‘Research Shows’ Headlines: We Bring Cause To Data

Diversity Patrol Scanning Citations For Victims

Little Nate’s Plan To Save The World

Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education Causes Mass Squealing

Stay The Course: Have Some Class

Class 73: How To Tell If You Have Bad Dice

Academic Proposes Mushrooms To Avoid Compulsory Moral Bioenhancement

Lancet Editor: Half Of Science Is Wrong. An Underestimate?

Junk Science and Cheap Moralism on the Tiber: The Church And Global Warming

What Went Wrong In Ireland, And What Will Go Wrong Here

Something To Cheer The Irish (And The Rest Of Us)

The Week In Doom: Nervous Sheep & Intolerant Irish

Gay-conversion Therapy Bans And The Origin Of Homosexual

Ireland’s Same-Sex Gmarriage Vote: Or, The Snakes Return?

Are Wars And Violence Decreasing? Taleb’s New Paper Reviewed

There Is No Culture Without Inequality: Stove 1

Impose Your Beliefs Before They Impose Theirs

Telekinesis: Ideas In Our Reenchantment & Rectification

The Physics Of Blessings: Ideas In Our Reenchantment & Rectification