“Can Nate Silver do no wrong? Between elections and baseball statistics, Silver has become America’s secular god of predictions. And now he has a best-seller, ‘The Signal and the Noise,’ in which he discusses the challenges and science of prediction in a wide range of domains, covering politics, sports, earthquakes, epidemics, economics, and climate change.” Continue reading New Yorker: What Nate Silver Gets Wrong
Category: Methodology
Study casts doubt on link between cannabis, teen IQ drop
Defense of dope smoking brings out epidemiological skeptics. And why wouldn’t these criticisms also be true for the lead-IQ claims? Continue reading Study casts doubt on link between cannabis, teen IQ drop
Study: 95% of epidemiology studies are wrong
I’m surprised the figure is that low. Continue reading Study: 95% of epidemiology studies are wrong
True Fact: The Lack of Pirates Is Causing Global Warming
“It’s true. This extremely scientific graph proves it:” Continue reading True Fact: The Lack of Pirates Is Causing Global Warming
Scientific method first determines what works, then how
A response in the Financial Times to “Scientific advance did not create most technologies.” Continue reading Scientific method first determines what works, then how
Eisen: Research Bought, Then Paid For
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is sponsoring a bill with New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney to make “taxpayers who already paid for… research… to pay again to read the results.” Continue reading Eisen: Research Bought, Then Paid For
Scientific advance did not create most technologies
A letter in the Financial Times makes a good point. Continue reading Scientific advance did not create most technologies
How one man got away with mass fraud by saying ‘trust me, it’s science’
“When news broke this year that Diederik Stapel, a prominent Dutch social psychologist, was faking his results on dozens of experiments, the fallout was swift, brutal and global.” Continue reading How one man got away with mass fraud by saying ‘trust me, it’s science’
Science retracts chronic fatigue study
Perhaps journals should require “replicate first” rather than “retract later.” Continue reading Science retracts chronic fatigue study
Statisticians can prove almost anything, a new study finds
JunkScience.com has been saying (and proving) this for 15+ years. Continue reading Statisticians can prove almost anything, a new study finds