Briggs

How Presidential Polls Work: D+7 or R-3 And All That

Unleash the polls! No, I don't mean the men who bravely served under Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło (free bad joke of the day!), but those election omens…

Fun

Boo!

Culture Philosophy

Women Do Not Have A Right To Do Whatever They Want With Their Bodies

Over the weekend Yours Truly tweeted this: https://twitter.com/mattstat/status/262583368246497280 Within five minutes of posting, I lost seven Twitter followers, people presumably displeased with the entry. Since this is me, I first…

Statistics

Nate Silver’s Obama Prediction: What Does It Mean?

It was Sophocles who first noted the truism, "No one loves the messenger who brings bad news." But the converse is also true. As it is written (in Romans 10:15),…

Culture

The Downside Of Technology: Being On Call 24/7—Guest Post by The Blonde Bombshell (with pic!)

Let me first say that I am a modest person with a modest existence. I have a job, which is nothing special, but I do it well. I have a…

Philosophy

Academic Philosopher Finds New Way To Dehumanize People; Calls For Beetroot Liberation

Update Now with new and improved title! (Title writing is a talent which your humble author possesses not.) In the classic 1978 documentary Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! we watch…

Statistics

Intrade’s Record In Picking Presidents: Is There Market Manipulation?

An "influential forecast" is one in which knowledge of the prediction changes the uncertainty in the thing being predicted. Consider a (respected) political opinion poll which announces Candidate B has…

Culture

Italian Scientists Convicted! Shocked That Their Predictions Were Heeded

Do you feel that chill? It's from a fell wind issuing from an Italian judge's courtroom, where he has just sent a group of seismologists and one politician to the…

John Pate on Fertility Fears Overblown: Tiny Shift in Childless Rate Saves The SpeciesAugust 28, 2026
Another thing to model: the age at which the mother gives birth to the children. Mothers who give birth in…
Dennis Larkin on Fertility Fears Overblown: Tiny Shift in Childless Rate Saves The SpeciesAugust 27, 2026
Medieval Cathars avoided sexual carnality. They fought militarily against the kings for a time, going down to defeat, while their…
JRob on Fertility Fears Overblown: Tiny Shift in Childless Rate Saves The SpeciesAugust 27, 2026
re: Shawn Marshall Just yesterday my email folder contained a conservative political call to oppose the upcoming abortion amendment to…
C-Marie on Fertility Fears Overblown: Tiny Shift in Childless Rate Saves The SpeciesAugust 27, 2026
Have they rallied around the mother who killed her three children because she killed her three children, , or have…
Brian (bulaoren) on Fertility Fears Overblown: Tiny Shift in Childless Rate Saves The SpeciesAugust 27, 2026
As we read today's post on..."motherhood", a Massachusetts jury is determining the fate of a mother who killed her 3…