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
Unbelievable Project: God's existence, free will and faith - The Big Questions
6/22/07 - God's existence, free will and faith - The Big Questions
As part of the Unbelievable Project, I am taking notes and "arm-chair" responding to each of the Unbelievable …
#Unbelievable Project
Unbelievable Project: Does Christianity enslave? - Are we better off without belief in God?
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.
For a full RSS …
#Unbelievable Project
Unbelievable Project: A Non-Believer's Armchair Perspective on Six Years of Christian Debates
So I've decided to start a project which will be posted here as I go along. Essentially, it is based off of the Unbelievable podcast, which for those who don't …
#Unbelievable Project
Resurrection, Linear Regression, and the Art of Harmonization
Dan Barker has an Easter Challenge to any Christian to come up with a seamless account of what happened on the day of the Resurrection.
The conditions of the challenge …
#wordpress_migration
There is no population
So I've been following and intro stats class for a project of mine, and came across this curious definition:
- A statistic is number that describes a sample
- A parameter is …
#wordpress_migration
"Science Refutes God" Debate
I just finished watching the "Science Refutes God" debate. Although I am not a huge fan of Krauss and Shermer, I thought they did a decent job. As I was …
#wordpress_migration
Logical vs Reasonable
I was listening to an episode of the Rationally Speaking podcast, which overall is quite good, but from time to time I disagree. In this case they were talking about …
#wordpress_migration
God does Not Exist, Clearly
In a facebook conversation, Matthew Bell claimed that "the evidence for the existence of God has been made so clear that any who do not believe in it are without …
#wordpress_migration
A few things about Carl Sagan
It's Carl Sagan day, so it is worth to pause for a moment to remember his contributions. I remember being motivated by him, and his Cosmos series. He always had …
#wordpress_migration
Bayesian thinking
I'm a big fan of Bayesian reasoning, and I like the idea of applying it to human intelligence. Usually it is in terms of failures of reasoning, compared with the …
#wordpress_migration
Great Science Ads!
Check out the pictures at the bottom of this science museum's site. And they have some nice 30 second videos!
I particularly like:
#wordpress_migration
Breaking news: Doctor hallucinates and is convinced that science is wrong
This article in Newsweek about a neurosurgeon named Eben Alexander who had a near-death experience, states that he is convinced that heaven actually exists, and that science is wrong about …
#wordpress_migration
Critical Thinking
A recent post on critical thinking from one of my favorite climate blogs. In a nutshell there is:
- Constantly check one’s views against evidence from the real world.
- Think …
#wordpress_migration
Naturalistic Bias? Presupposing Naturalism?
I've heard in a number of debates, especially on the historicity of the Resurrection (like the very interesting 6-parter between Robert M Price and Don Johnson), that the reason a …
#wordpress_migration
Aliens!
Here is an interesting attempt to make the Drake equation more accessible:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120821-how-many-alien-worlds-exist
I like the fact that they have the various standard assumptions …
#wordpress_migration
Statistics vs Probability
It's been a while since my last post, and I hope to get back into regularly posting, now that the semester is starting. I'm also testing out new posting tools …
#wordpress_migration
Presuppositionalist arguments
Introduction
If you want some entertainment in the form of logical gymnastics, go to this page on the proof of god. If you're impatient, here is one of the arguments …
#wordpress_migration
Lessons From Bayes' Rule
I was thinking of some of the not-so-mathematical lessons we learn from
Bayes' Rule. I'd like to include actual examples for each, and how it
maps onto the various pieces …
#wordpress_migration
Suppression of Ideas in Science
This is very typical of "science" that doesn't work. You get a group of devout people supporting it who claim that the scientific establishment is unfair …
#wordpress_migration
Free Will and Entropy
In Sam Harris’ talk on free will, we have the following comment:
“if we caught a serial killer, we’d assume his responsibility because of his ability to have chosen …
#wordpress_migration
On Being Wrong
I tell my students that I supremely hope that they have the experience of one of their cherished ideas shown to be wrong. I was recently confronted with a perception …
#wordpress_migration
