William M. Briggs

The Dismal Removing Freedoms Saves Money Argument

Here is an example of an argument which you will hear with increasing frequency. A month or so ago on the Fox News Special Report panel the participants were discussing…

Culture Philosophy

A Christmas Play In One Act

This post originally ran two years ago. Then current events inspired the post; events haven't changed much since then. Scene: Night Court, Manhattan; a date in the near future. Players:…

Statistics

Shocking New Study: Males Play More Sports Than Non-Males

The peer-reviewed paper "A Sex Difference in the Predisposition for Physical Competition: Males Play Sports Much More than Females Even in the Contemporary U.S" by Robert O. Deaner and a…

Philosophy Statistics

In Defense Of Peter Kreeft: A Response To Brafford

Peter Kreeft, a philosopher whose surname does not sound like it is spelled, placed in Touchstone the article "Clashing Symbols: The Loss of Aristotelian Logic & the Social, Moral, &…

Statistics

Do Heat Waves Cause Birth Defects?

What would you name a paper which purports to discover that heat waves stress pregnant women and thus cause birth defects but which never once measures the actual exposure of…

Culture Statistics

No Religion Is Third-Largest World Group: Or, How Inaccurate Are Surveys On Religious Belief?

The actual headline at Reuters was "No religion" is the third-largest world group after Christians, Muslim, but my expurgated version is close enough. It's also similar to many of the…

Fun

The Hobbit Reviewed—Guest Post by John Henry Briggs

The Hobbit was quite good, but disappointing. One of the biggest flaws in Lord of the Rings was the endless video game-like orc slaughter that was gratuitous at best and…

Philosophy Statistics

The Data Is The Data, Not The Model: With Climatology Time Series Example

How not to plot The following plot was sent to me yesterday for comment. I cannot disclose the sender, nor the nature of the data, but neither of these are…

brad on Class 48: What Is A Model?May 1, 2025
I swear I will not sin today.. But Grok and the rest will. They will throw your words back at…
Johnno on The Sun Made To Set On The British Empire – Via Science!April 30, 2025
R.I.P. Solar Panels.
p on I’m Going To Sue Scientists Who Gave Me Apoplexy Over Claims Of Climate LiabilityApril 30, 2025
My guess (my expertise on law comes entirely from entertainment TV) is that you can't sue because many of your…
McChuck on Researchers Tell Models To Say People Will Die Without Your MoneyApril 30, 2025
Why, precisely, should I grieve the potential deaths of millions of Africans from their own stupidity? That's what we're really…
Ignacio García Blanco on Let Go Your Wee P! — Reader Help RequestedApril 29, 2025
Hey Dr. Briggs. I just resent the e-mail. The subject line begins with "Inquiry regarding..." Thanks in advance.