Statistics – Page 152 – William M. Briggs

Possibility Versus Probability & Decision

Philip Pilkington, author of the buyable The Reformation in Economics: A Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Economic Theory, asks a follow-up question to the material on the precautionary principle. If probability…

Culture Philosophy Statistics

Video: How To Think About Statistics, Figures, And New Ideas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmMBLTz6Pp8 Hard link to the video. This post ran originally on 28 February 2015. Given the quiet weekend, I postponed our Summa Contra Gentiles until next week. It is a…

Class Statistics

Taleb’s Curious Views On Probability — Part III: Ergodicity & All That

Read Part I, Part II Ergodic in probability has a technical definition. Without going into mathematical details (which are fine except possibly when applied), a "sequence" is defined as a…

Class Statistics

Taleb’s Curious Views On Probability — Part II: Skin in the Game

Read Part I It is in one sense fortunate that the mathematical, or rather quantitative, roots of probability began with gambling. Routine gambles are easy to understand, and the calculations…

Class Philosophy Statistics

Taleb’s Curious Views On Probability — Part I: I Say Probability Does Not Exist

Ye Olde Statistician points us to an essay (a book chapter?) by our old pal Nassim Nicholas Taleb called "The Logic of Risk Taking". Let's examine it. You, dear reader,…

Statistics

Middle Ground Between Precautionary Principle & Inaction

From reader (and listener!) Phil Pilkington (there asterisks are original): Hi Matt, Loved your speech. Hyperskeptical Economist that I am, M Taleb did us some great favours in outlining the…

Statistics

DDP: Quack Cures For What Doesn’t Ail Us, Part II

I'm at the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness meeting in No-History City, Louisiana. Here's Part II of (an earlier draft of) the speech I gave Saturday. Consider donating $1 for every…

Statistics

DDP: Quack Cures For What Doesn’t Ail Us, Part I

I'm at the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness meeting in No-History City, Louisiana. Here's Part I of (an earlier draft of) the speech I gave Saturday. Consider donating $1 for every…

Brian (bulaoren) on The Court’s Slow Theft Of The Constitution — Guest Post by Ianto WattJuly 6, 2026
Sorry folks, my 1st comment today seems to have been lost in the ether. The Howard Johnson's reference makes no…
Steve on The Court’s Slow Theft Of The Constitution — Guest Post by Ianto WattJuly 6, 2026
I wondered the same thing, Cloudbuster. What I understand of the case is even worse -- John Marshall himself was…
Brian ( bulaoren) on The Court’s Slow Theft Of The Constitution — Guest Post by Ianto WattJuly 6, 2026
Yeah, I know; Howard Johnson's is defunct, like our constitution (?).
Brian (bulauren) on The Court’s Slow Theft Of The Constitution — Guest Post by Ianto WattJuly 6, 2026
If an absent voter's mail-in ballot is received after the date of the election but postmarked earlier, is it counted?…
Ray on Math Is Epistemic Violence, Says Lady AcademicJuly 6, 2026
This book looks like a wonderful example of the old saying, if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle…