Books
Books that I have written.
Media Appearances
Podcasts and Videos in which I have appeared or which I have created.
pyndamics3
Dynamical systems simulation in Python. Includes both continuous and stochastic simulation.
Stats for Everyone
An introductory stats book from a Bayesian perspective, including Python software.
I am a Scientist, Skeptic, and Professor at Bryant University. My goal is to make technical subject matters widely accessible and to use my analytical and computational skills to assist anyone with their science-related problems.
Blog
Energy Balance Revisited
Going back a few years I published an article simplifying the calculations for atmospheric greenhouse gas effects for undergraduate non-science majors,
Blais, B. (2003). Teaching energy balance using round numbers …
#science
Leon Cooper passes away
My mentor and friend Leon Cooper has died at the age of 94. I am still grappling with this news, hitting me harder than I expected. However, why wouldn't I …
#science
Reproducing Richard Carrier's Calculations
It is said that a published work without the code is little more than an advertisement. It is for this reason that I try to make sure that I publish …
#religion
A poor introduction to Bayesian Reasoning
I've had my disagreements with Jonathan McLatchie a few times, some of it here, and now there is another interview Bayesian Probability and Intelligent Design: A Beginner's Guide that someone …
#religion
What would I expect to be in the Bible?
I've read the entire Bible twice, the most recent time this past year. Both times I was underwhelmed by the content in the book. It had so much barbarism, and …
#religion
"Why I became an atheist" Part 1 and Part 2- John Loftus & Peter May - 05 April 2008, 12 April 2008
As part of the Unbelievable Project, I am taking notes and "arm-chair" responding to each of the Unbelievable podcast episodes satisfying a set of simple rules.
See here for a …
#Unbelievable Project
Some More Comments on Undesigned Coincidences
An "undesigned coincidence" is used in an argument for the reliability of the Gospels, notable by Jonathan McLatchie, Tim McGrew and Lydia McGrew, and is defined as
When you have …
#religion
Can Science Explain Everything? Unbelievable Project: John Lennox vs Peter Atkins - 2nd February 2019
Can science explain everything? Christian guest John Lennox is emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Oxford University. Atheist guest Peter Atkins is emeritus Professor of Chemistry at …
#Unbelievable Project
How NaNoWriMo Got Me Back to the Gym
So National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is here, and it has its usual ups and downs as expected. For this event, you commit to writing 50,000 words of a …
#productivity
What Does Probability have to do with God? Exploring Bayesian Reasoning in Theological Problems
In this talk, I will present a framework for rational inquiry based on probability theory. Probability theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with uncertainty and how to reason …
#presentations
Richard Bauckham and the Distribution of Names
My work with Kamil Gregor on the reexamination of the analysis of names from Richard Bauckham's Jesus and the Eyewitnesses has been published:
Gregor, K., & Blais, B. (2023). Is Name …
#media
Bible in a Year -- My experience
So I listened to the Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz where Fr. Mike Schmitz reads the entire bible across 365 days. I had read the Bible …
#religion
Why the fine tuning argument is not convincing to me (Part 1 of 2)
The fine-tuning argument is an argument in philosophy and cosmology that suggests the existence of a fine-tuned universe points towards the existence of a intelligent designer or a purpose behind …
#religion
Claims are not (always) evidence
Here's my short rambling rant about the claims-evidence distinction. In a number of debates, but more famously this one with Jonathan McLatchie, Matt Dillahunty states that "claims are not evidence …
#religion
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence a probabilistic analysis
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence - Carl Sagan
I think no pithy quote has caused so much angst with apologists than this one from Carl Sagan, directed in particular to religious …
#religion
Probability and the Independence of Testimony
In a previous post I examined a simple model of the interaction of testimony with scientific inquiry, and how it can affect the probabilities of the truth of miracle claims …
#religion
Walking through 6 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Learn Code
So I was poking around on the web and decided to watch the video "THE Game Changer for Learning to Code" https://www.youtube.com/embed/H1fBdboJeBo and then attempt …
#programming
One Rule to Rule Them All Bayesian Analysis in the Sciences
I'm giving a talk at the Fall Cross-Disciplinary Research, Teaching and Technology Symposium on Wednesday November 9th, 2:00PM – 5:00PM at Bryant University. The theme this semester is Bayesian …
#science
Miracles with Brian Blais
Matthew and Andrew welcome me back to talk about miracles. Andrew gives an update on the failed prayer to heal his eyesight, and towards the end of the show, there …
#media
The "God" of the Philosophers Is Empty
So I recently had a bit of a discussion which ended somewhat abruptly with complaints of category errors on my part and implied scientism. The initial Tweet was:
https://twitter …
#religion
Bad Apologetics on Bayes - Part 3
In this YouTube episode, Bad Apologetics Ep 18 - Bayes Machine goes BRRRRRRRRR I join Nathan Ormond, Kamil Gregor, and James Fodor to discuss Timothy and Lydia McGrew's article in The …
#religion
