Category Archives: Journalism

PREDICTIONS SHOULD USE NUMBERS.

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Philip

PREDICTIONS SHOULD USE NUMBERS. I posted here in 2007 about how there was a time when weather forecasts were expressed in words rather than probabilities.The forecast would say “partly cloudy” or “partly sunny” and they meant the same thing. I … Continue reading →

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IT’S NOT A SCOOP UNLESS OTHERS REPORT ON IT.

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Philip

IT’S NOT A SCOOP UNLESS OTHERS REPORT ON IT. My caption for the last post said that Gleanings in Bee Culture had gotten a scoop on the flights by the Wright brothers. There is a sense in which it would … Continue reading →

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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE GETS THE SCOOP ON THE WRIGHT BROTHERS.

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Philip

GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE GETS THE SCOOP ON THE WRIGHT BROTHERS. I posted here on James Salter’s review of David McCullough’s book THE WRIGHT BROTHERS. John Lanchester has a review of the book in the London Review of Books (September … Continue reading →

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WHY THE REPRODUCIBILITY PROJECT RESULTS ARE A GOOD THING.

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Philip

WHY THE REPRODUCIBILITY PROJECT RESULTS ARE A GOOD THING. Benedict Carey says that the results of the Reproducibility Project “have confirmed the worst fears of scientists who have long worried that the field needed a strong correction.” Despite the dismay … Continue reading →

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THE REPRODUCIBILITY PROJECT.

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Philip

THE REPRODUCIBILITY PROJECT. I have posted a number of times about the need for publishing replications studies and negative results. For example, I said here: “If more papers are published, more dull but important negative results and more dull but … Continue reading →

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SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS THAT GOES UNRECOGNIZED AS SCIENCE (COMMENT).

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Philip

SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS THAT GOES UNRECOGNIZED AS SCIENCE (COMMENT). I posted here on an article by Gina Kolata in the New York Times about how hospitals have reduced the amount of time to treat people having heart attacks. She gave the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Journalism, Science | 1 Comment

QUESTIONING ALL NUTRIENT STUDIES.

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Philip

QUESTIONING ALL NUTRIENT STUDIES. I see that I have posted ten times previously about John Ioannidis, now a professor of medicine and statistics at Stanford. Professor Ioannidis heads a new institute for research on how research is done. I posted … Continue reading →

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“IF I HAD BEEN THE ONE WHO WAS THERE.”

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Philip

“IF I HAD BEEN THE ONE WHO WAS THERE.” This story must be my favorite weird news story because I carried it around in my brief case for many years: The clipping described an event in a trial for armed … Continue reading →

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WHAT’S NO LONGER WEIRD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE NEWS.

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Philip

WHAT’S NO LONGER WEIRD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE NEWS. This article by Daniel Engber on the Pacific Standard site is about Chuck Shepherd, who for over 25 years has been the proprietor of “News of the Weird”, a syndicated column … Continue reading →

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“HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR” AUTHOR DIES.

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Philip

“HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR” AUTHOR DIES. The New York Post began its obituary (June 9) for its former managing editor this way: “Vincent A. Musetto, who wrote the greatest headline in New York newspaper history, died Tuesday at 74 … Continue reading →

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