Reading Time: 8 minutes A long time commenter here (See Noevo Twit), who has contributed precisely nothing to any conversation he has been involved in bar annoyance, is not long for these boards. It finally came to a head and I announced he would be banned after the election given: a) if Trump won, he would be incorrigibly smug; […]
math
Posted inPolitics
Benford’s Law and Election Fraud
Reading Time: < 1 minute Some Trump supporters and media outlets have stated that Biden’s vote distribution in certain places are evidence of election fraud because the data goes against something called Benford’s Law. This has since been shown to be nonsense. The following video (thanks to a thread commenter – 3lemenope? – for posting it) explains why this is […]
Posted inUncategorized
Debunking CosmicSkeptic Debunking Himself Debunking the Kalam. A Rebunking? Or Something…
Reading Time: < 1 minute Okay, this isn’t so much a debunking as a conversation or a use of Alex O’Connor’s (CosmicSkeptic) recent video as a stimulus for discussion. It’s a commentary of sorts. I’ve got a lot of time for O’Connor: his videos are excellent and he rightfully has a big following because he produces quality content with finesse […]
Posted inPolitics
Debunking “The Myth of Police Brutality” Again
Reading Time: < 1 minute I recently produced an extensive article debunking the claims, at length, of Heather MacDonald’s Wall Street Journal police “The Myth of Police Brutality” that many on the right held up to pronounce the central claims of the BLM movement to be erroneous. On top of my piece, Thadryan (a Firefighter and Human Services Professional turned […]
Posted inScience
The Myth of Heather MacDonald’s “The Myth of Systematic Police Racism”
Reading Time: 13 minutes Confirmation bias is a pervasive challenge. I am victim to it; you are victim to it. I have been embroiled in many arguments about racial equality in many different places. I was beset on Twitter by a number of people after I took issue with someone who posted this: There is no pattern of racist […]
Posted inEducation, General
Punjab (Pakistan) Bans “Infant Mathematics” Textbook for Showing Images of Pigs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pigs are considered “unclean” by Muslims, but this is still insane.
Posted inHealth
Simulating an Epidemic
Reading Time: < 1 minute For those geeks out there, check these modelling simulations of an epidemic such as coronavirus: Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling Philosopher You can also buy me a cuppa. Please… It justifies me continuing to do this!
Posted inHealth, Science
Overestimating Death Rates: Comparing Fatality Rates of Coronavirus & the Flu
Reading Time: 8 minutes Fatality Rates Aren’t Fixed: They Depend on What We Do Fundamentally, there is no such thing as “the” fatality rate for a virus. How likely people are to die from COVID-19 (just like many diseases) depends on whether they can get access to treatment. There is no such thing as “the” death rate for a virus. It […]
Posted inPolitics
On Defending Billionaires
Reading Time: 7 minutes In the recent UK general election and in previous and present US political discourse, there has been a propensity to defend billionaires by those who aren’t billionaires. In fact, those who defend them are far, far closer to poverty and bankruptcy than to being a billionaire. By a considerable margin. The defence of billionaires seems […]
Posted inUncategorized
Miracles, Prayer, Coincidences and Statistical Probability
Reading Time: 13 minutes I went to the pub last night with a couple of mates, one of whom is the founding member of the Tippling Philosophers. Because we are very cool people, we spent a large amount of time talking philosophy and theology. Strap yourselves in, this ain’t short. My other friend talked about a couple of unexplained […]