William M. Briggs

Is Experimental Economics Irrational?

Everybody knows there's no such thing as money. So how come everybody acts like it's real? In particular, why do economists and other similar creatures find the lack of "rationality"…

Statistics

My Answers to Willis Eschenbach’s 14 + 2 Questions

Repost Mr Eschenbach had not had the chance to respond to this article before the two weeks wherein comments are automatically closed have elapsed. This re-post will allow him, and…

Culture

Pajamas Media: The VAT Man Cometh: It Will Happen. How Bad Is It?

Today's post is at Pajamas Media: "The VAT Man Cometh: It Will Happen. How Bad Is It?" I have a ghost of an old song---big band days---hiding in the back…

Statistics

What Can Volcanic Dust Models Tell Us About Cap & Trade?

Say Eyjafjallajokull three times fast. I wish I could say it once. I've heard it in so many different forms since it blew its stack that I can't be sure…

Culture

Harvard Classes: Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball

Yesterday, we pointed out that Cornell has some odd courses on its books, subjects which are not consonant with typical expectations of a classical education. So, in the interest of…

Culture

Cornell University to Offer Degree in News Anchor Hairdo Studies

Ezra Cornell, a generous man concerned deeply about his country and its culture, when he created his eponymous university in 1868 said, "I would found an institution where any person…

Statistics

The Pournelle vs. Nolan Chart: Political Throwdown

Before Jerry Pournelle began writing science fiction; before, that is, he teamed with Larry Niven to write the classic Lucifer's Hammer1, he was a political scientist. Pournelle was dissatisfied with…

Statistics

Russia Subtracted Most People; India Added Most.

It's Friday and time for something light. In 2006, Russia lost 732,000 people. Don't bother searching for them, because most of them were never born. Its neighbor Ukraine also misplaced…

MikeW on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 16, 2026
There are many ways to reconcile alleged contradictions in the Bible, including the staff issue (which is not a particularly…
C-Marie on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
"Memories flag, you see,....." , BUT the Holy Spirit does not flag at all , and He It was Who…
Brian (bulaoren) on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
Should these (percieved) inconsistencies negate the whole body of teaching? I once knew a couple who were profoundly opposed to…
bmiller on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
What seems odd to me is that if he was once so fiercely committed to believing but concluded he was…
Cary D Cotterman on How A Miracle Turns MundaneApril 15, 2026
I'm still hung up on the staff issue. It doesn't make much sense for someone to tell you not to…

William M. Briggs

Class 86: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Theory

How A Miracle Turns Mundane

Contest Winner Announced!

Trump’s Last Stand: Mea Culpa, Redux — Guest Post by Ianto Watt

Class 85: Proper Scores of Model Goodness

Proof!

Justice Ketanji Roars

Iran Has Caught Covid: A Reason For The War

Class 84: Most Important Measure of Model Goodness

There Is No Solution To Crashing Fertility: Good Times Made Soft Men

Did The Pope Really Say Health Is A “Right”?

All Models Only Say What They Are Told To Say, And AI Is A Model

It’s The End Of The World Again

Belgian Judge Wants To Arrest Little Nate Cofnast Because Cofnast Says Smart People Are Smarter Than Dumb People

Class 83: Why Were Paul Ehrlich’s Predictions So Good (and so Bad)?

The Great Effeminization of the Academy

The Only Metric That Matters: Or, Pinker’s Folly

Lancet Discovers Public Health Is Politics

Class 82: Be More Uncertain (About Models)

On Not Reading

The Great Smoothing: Another Reason Not To Fear (or trust) AI

Class 86: Calibration & Conformal Prediction: Theory

How A Miracle Turns Mundane

Is Experimental Economics Irrational?

My Answers to Willis Eschenbach’s 14 + 2 Questions

Pajamas Media: The VAT Man Cometh: It Will Happen. How Bad Is It?

What Can Volcanic Dust Models Tell Us About Cap & Trade?

Harvard Classes: Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball

Cornell University to Offer Degree in News Anchor Hairdo Studies

The Pournelle vs. Nolan Chart: Political Throwdown

Russia Subtracted Most People; India Added Most.

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