William M. Briggs

The word to determine is ambiguous. It can mean ascertain or cause. The latter implies the former, but not vice versa. Knowing the full cause of things is our goal;…

Here's the panicky headline: "Long periods of extreme heat can accelerate biological age, scientists say". Longer periods of extreme heat has been found to accelerate biological age in older adults…

David Hume, as you know, wrote on miracles. He didn't like them. Which is to say, he didn't believe them. But then Hume didn't believe we could know any cause.…

Direct government funding of science has to end. Here is why, and what should replace it. Some are making a big deal of a new paper in which "researchers found…

Every probability and statistics class I've ever heard of starts with math applied to observations---with all notions of what probability is and what cause means brushed aside. By the time…

Many years ago my forestry consulting services were requested by a group of Catholic nuns, Benedictines, who own a large tract of land in the Pacific Northwest. It happened that…

Dilbert's Scott Adams posted a video on his reasoning behind his decision whether to get vaxed during the covid panic. He concludes that no one is now in a position…

My friend (and friend of ours) Bob Kurland gave the presentation "Our Goldilocks Universe" at the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology on anthropic coincidences. These are my…