Posted inStatistics
Live From Heartland Climate Conference, Day Two
What happened to Day One? If I find out, you'll be the first to know. Through the extreme generosity of one of us, I'm here in Las Vegas at Heartland's…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Evolution Under Fixed Constraints; Or, Why Random Changes Don’t Cut It
See if this analogy makes sense. A ramp onto which you loose a ball, which can roll down and fall into one of three slots. The configuration is such that…
Posted inCulture Philosophy Statistics
Do You Believe In Global Warming Because Of The Seriousness Of The Charges?
An activist tells you, "Based on my theory of rampant, out-of-control global warming, otters, driven mad by the heat, will take to the streets and destroy mankind, just like apes…
Posted inStatistics
Class Report: How Not To Teach Statistics
It's over. Two solid weeks of 9 to 5 to 9 and beyond statistics. Plus a few cocktails and cookouts and camaraderie. I'm exhausted. The students are mostly later early…
Posted inCulture Statistics
Casual Sex Is Good for You, Says New Biased Study
In a ridiculously biased "study", a researcher has shown that some college students who self-select to participate in a study of "causal" sex and who say they like having "casual"…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Probabilities Aren’t Decisions
The title says it all. But its presence implies, and it is true, that people often mistake the two. If you decide to bet fifty bucks the USA beats Germany,…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
The Biggest Error In Regression
I know, I know: we're sick to death of regression, but we have to cover the biggest error, which is how the Deadly Sin of Reification happens. You have a…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Free Will The Result Of ‘Background Noise’?
Once again the lack of metaphysical training has led some scientists to say an incredibly silly thing. That free will "could be the result of 'background noise' in the brain."…