William M. Briggs

Every Family Has Children Until They Have A Boy: Probability Stumper

Reader Bryan Davies quoted a poser from Math Overflow (have we heard of that?) which read: In a country in which people only want boys every family continues to have…

Statistics

Scientists Claim Homosexual Men Have Different Faces

In the journal that brought you "Is a Woman's Preference for Chest Hair in Men Influenced by Parasite Threat?"1, "Accurate Identification of a Preference for Insertive Versus Receptive Intercourse from…

Fun Philosophy

What Do You Call Believer in Scientism? Contest

Toby Young at the Spectator ran this tweet yesterday: https://twitter.com/toadmeister/status/402545969956261888 The text (if you can't see) reads: "Is there a name for people who think reason and research evidence alone…

Philosophy Statistics

Observational Versus Controlled Trials

Received this email from a reader: I took on board all I read on your website, and it has created confusion in my mind. I have been reading Ioannidis and…

Philosophy

Dawkins Gets It Wrong Again: Similar Is Not The Same

Richard Dawkins in an article to the New Statesman---the same issue which somebody who obviously wasn't in full possession of his faculties assigned to Dawkins as editor---the Christmas issue, mind---an…

Statistics

We’re 88% Through The International Year Of Statistics

I hadn't any idea we'd even started. But thanks to reader Dan Hughes and his link to the Wall Street Journal story Odds Lot: Statisticians Party Like It's 2.013 x…

Statistics

Nonstatisticians Often Screw Up Statistics

Title stolen from article of same name by Leland Teschler in the trade journal Machine Design. Update Statisticians often screw up statistics, too. See below. The article is the result…

Statistics

Johnson’s Revised Standards For Statistical Evidence

Thanks to the many readers who sent me Johnson's paper, which is here (pdf). Those who haven't will want to read "Everything Wrong With P-values Under One Roof", the material…

Steve on Death By Organ DonationJuly 27, 2026
"The prospect of cutting out a juicy heart has blurred their vision..." I commend you. A less restrained man might…
Brian (bulaoren) on Death By Organ DonationJuly 27, 2026
Thank you, Dr. Kevorkian PS. Soylent green is people!
hudbwu on Believing In God Makes You Crave Potato Chips, Say AcademicsJuly 26, 2026
And to think that 20 years ago, when I was much younger, I would have fallen for these things.
Eric Kay Sci Fi on $7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?July 24, 2026
Thanks for the write-up. Thinking about things in the way of a probability distribution has always helped me, but also…
Philip Rogan on $7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?July 24, 2026
Brian, good comment. A coincidence is only a coincidence to the person to which the coincidence occurred.

William M. Briggs

Death By Organ Donation

$7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?

Caution Against The Precautionary Principle: Interview with Jaap Hanekamp

Believing In God Makes You Crave Potato Chips, Say Academics

Hume’s Guillotine, Euclid’s Catapult: Induction, Axioms, and Objective Ethics

University of California Prof Tries To Save System From DIEing

The Equality Paradox

My Horrible Interaction With AI

SOON

The Court’s Slow Theft Of The Constitution — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Happy Birthday to US

Never Use Or Trust P-values (Pagan-Values)

Musk Doges Deaths: Researchers Say USAID Absence Kills Kills Kills!

The Intellectual Capacity Of Women by David Stove

Marbles!

Class 92: Simple Optimal Decisions: PSA & Cancer Example

Math Is Epistemic Violence, Says Lady Academic

Truly Random Numbers Found?

Class 91: Try Not To Use the ROC Curve & AUC

Climate Change Increases Risk of Even Slower World Cup Games!

The Ultimate IQ Test: Guessing the Author’s Mind and Escaping the Infinity of Answers

Death By Organ Donation

$7.11 at 7:11 PM on 7/11 at 7/11: What Are The Chances?

Every Family Has Children Until They Have A Boy: Probability Stumper

Scientists Claim Homosexual Men Have Different Faces

What Do You Call Believer in Scientism? Contest

Observational Versus Controlled Trials

Dawkins Gets It Wrong Again: Similar Is Not The Same

We’re 88% Through The International Year Of Statistics

Nonstatisticians Often Screw Up Statistics

Johnson’s Revised Standards For Statistical Evidence

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