William M. Briggs

The Lady Tasting Tea: Bayes Versus Frequentism; Part I (updated)

Since the subject arose yesterday, and for other reasons which I'll explain later, I thought we should revisit this series, which ran a year ago. I have edited and expanded…

Statistics

Dawkins On The Double-Blind Experiment

The Edge every year asks top science celebrities a penetrating, yet fun, always fun, question. Last year's was "What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit?" One of the correspondent…

Philosophy Statistics

Statement Of Teaching Philosophy

Regular readers will know that I have been searching for (continuous) employment as a teacher. Most colleges and universities ask applicants to supply "a statement of teaching philosophy", while a…

Philosophy Statistics

The Jeffreys-Lindley Paradox Isn’t

Background A paradox is a mistake in thinking; an artificial, human creation which usually arises because a conclusion which follows from a set of beloved premises is itself unloved. Twitter…

Culture Fun Statistics

Oscar Predictions: Money, Men, & Maturity Make The Difference

Last year, my number two son1 and I created a model to predict the Oscar winning movie (the original post, and the follow up). We found the following characteristics most…

Fun Statistics

Scratch-off Lottery Tickets: Expected Payouts, A Hidden Benefit?

Update See the comments, but thanks to readers' arguments I believe I was wrong in an essential calculation. I've reworked the text to correct my error, which was small in…

Philosophy Statistics

What Is Cause? — Guest Post by DAV

Regular readers will recognize DAV as a regular contributer whose humorous voice of reason has kept many conversations on target. Today he presents ideas to spur a discussion of causality,…

Statistics

Last Night’s Republican Debate

Off in service today, so only a brief word. Debate results: Romney had an easy base hit to center field, Gingrich doubled but with no men on base, Santorum hit…

Brian (bulaoren) on How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?June 1, 2026
So, "Epsilon Minus" murderers would face the executioner? Maybe you really can fix stupid...
Willis Eschenbach on How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?June 1, 2026
Thanks, Matt. I've been saying this (although far from as eloquently) for a while. If a person is so mentally…
Robert Arvanitis on How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?June 1, 2026
The only question is capacity to recognize guilt. If the perpetrator was allowed to vote in national elections, the perpetrator…
Joe Blow on How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?June 1, 2026
I would proffer from a species standpoint, REMOVING exceptionally low IQ individuals from the gene pool should be carried out…
Tim O. on How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?June 1, 2026
ALL the concern over IQ and competency is the same smoke screen used as "motive" is commonly used: If the…

William M. Briggs

How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?

Class 90: Simple (Optimal) Decisions

Shocking Abortion Numbers: Death Distributions Show We’re Living Longer

Blessed Memorial Day; No Class; See You Wednesday

Why There Are (Probably) No UFOs: “Climate Change”

Creating Microbial Monsters To Terrorize Ourselves

Class 89: The Measure Most Modelers Forget: Skill Examples

The Shocking Conclusion of the HR Trilemma!

The HR Trilemma: Which Door Decides Your Fate?

Capital Punishment Deters Crime More Than The Death Penalty

How Experts Use “Calamities” to Find Official Victims & Gain Power

Richard Dawkins, The Big Muscles Fallacy & AI Pachinko

Class 88: The Most Neglected Concept: Skill

The Red-Blue Button Dilemma & Its Surprising Answer

UFO Reports About To Blast Off!

Class 87: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Examples

Noticing Differences Between Races Does Not Pay

What Are The Chances Of All These Scientists Dying, Killed, Or Going Missing?

Class 86: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Theory

How A Miracle Turns Mundane

Contest Winner Announced!

How High an IQ Must A Person Have To Be Executed?

Class 90: Simple (Optimal) Decisions

The Lady Tasting Tea: Bayes Versus Frequentism; Part I (updated)

Dawkins On The Double-Blind Experiment

Statement Of Teaching Philosophy

The Jeffreys-Lindley Paradox Isn’t

Oscar Predictions: Money, Men, & Maturity Make The Difference

Scratch-off Lottery Tickets: Expected Payouts, A Hidden Benefit?

What Is Cause? — Guest Post by DAV

Last Night’s Republican Debate

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