July 2019 – Page 2 – William M. Briggs

Winner Of Progeny Calamity, Genuine Ignoble Prize (Not THAT Ig Noble)

You guys knew you were in good company, but what you didn't know until today was that you were in the presence of celebrity. I am pleased---nay, thrilled---to announce that…

Class Statistics

Control Groups With No Cancers In Hormesis Data Sets

A well known paper by Duport et al. on radiation hormesis makes a statement about control groups which is not quite right. The paper is "Database of Radiogenic Cancer in…

Philosophy SAMT

Summary Against Modern Thought: Physics Cannot Show Our Wills Are Not Free

Previous post. Here's proof of the ultimate limitation of science. The will can be moved by physics (if you like) but only by violence. THAT SEPARATE CREATED SUBSTANCES CANNOT BE…

Culture

The Week In Doom — So Long, Whites Edition

I saw a Blue Cheka on Twitter argue that kids "of color" should have teachers that look like them. But I couldn't figure how midgets lecturing tots would help them.…

Statistics

The Conceit of AI

It helps every time you hear "AI" to think "statistical model". Because, of course, that's what AI is. Statistical models layered with clever data processing, that is. Curve fitting. Saying…

Statistics

Low-Hanging Molecules Have Already Been Picked—Most New Drugs Provide No Benefit

Remember the old stock scam? Call up 1,000 people and tell half Stock A will rise, and tell the other half it will fall. Five hundred people will be slightly…

Culture

The Religion Of Man Triumphant

The almost-blessed Archbishop Fulton J Sheen gave us in 1947 a paradox. He said then "that we are definitely at the end of a non-religious era of civilization". This was…

Culture Statistics

The Great Protest In England Draws To A Close

Have you heard this? Only 1% of people aged 18-24 identify as Church of England, according to the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey for 2018. Even among over-75s, the most…

hudbwu on The Enlightenment Was The Beginning Of The Great Leveling: Stove 2July 20, 2024
All correct. Slavery had to be specially justified and strictly limited because nobody was inherently worthy of slavery. Therefore, all…
TFBW on Lesson 13: No “Fair” Dice & Jaynes SymmetryJuly 20, 2024
If nothing else, this lecture is giving me pause to reconsider some of my presuppositions. I'm not too satisfied with…
Hagfish Bagpipe on Covid Is The Boogerman of Maladies: Now It Causes Cognitive Confusion Claim ResearchersJuly 20, 2024
Johnno: "It’s like a panacea, but in reverse." Good one.
Johnno on Covid Is The Boogerman of Maladies: Now It Causes Cognitive Confusion Claim ResearchersJuly 19, 2024
Have the reporters asked the White House if perhaps another booster might help the Biden? A certain someone said it…
Johnno on The Enlightenment Was The Beginning Of The Great Leveling: Stove 2July 19, 2024
Technically, the Church had and used slaves. And even the Old Testament allowed for slavery under certain conditions. For example,…