Blog Category
Black Boxes and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel Equation
Posted on January 1, 2020
When working with statistical software programs, you should do one or two calculations by hand just to make sure the software is working properly. The last thing you want is to have an error happen because you didn’t illuminate the inside of the black box.
When You Only Read the Abstract, You End Up Thinking That Vaccines Cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Posted on December 30, 2019 3 Comments
Anti-vaxxers are spreading a new rumor, and so, here I am, screaming in the wilderness to see if anyone is paying attention. The new rumor is — as you may have guessed from my clever title to this blog post — that vaccines cause autism SIDS. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is a syndrome in […]
Crab Cakes and Circus
Posted on December 20, 2019 3 Comments
With a relentless homicide epidemic ongoing, Baltimore still finds time to celebrate their football team. With so many issues around the world, we still like — and need — to be entertained.
It Kind of Tickles, Does It Not?
Posted on December 11, 2019 2 Comments
There is a great podcast by economist Tim Harford about things that have gone terribly wrong and what we can learn from them. The podcast is called “Cautionary Tales,” and, believe me, they are. If you’re the kind of person who learns from their mistakes and the mistakes of others, you’ll like this podcast. Two […]
The Parent Ren, Part XI: God Almighty, Stop Testing Me!
Posted on December 5, 2019 2 Comments
Baby Ren is now full-fledged Toddler Ren. As such, she has started to question my authority. This is very common among Rens, and your mileage may vary. The word “No” has become a very prominent part of her vernacular, and it is pretty much the default answer to many of our requests. Still, with our […]
Calculating TB Exposure Time Using R
Posted on November 29, 2019
A quick explainer of how you can calculate exposure time between cases and contacts using R programming.
Your Views Will Evolve
Posted on November 27, 2019 2 Comments
Time flies, and you all of a sudden find yourself not thinking or acting the way that you used to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Tell you all about it? Totally.
Odds Ratio or Marginal Effects? Depends on the Story You’re Trying to Tell.
Posted on November 19, 2019 1 Comment
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, so why not entertain you with a thrilling subject? Pop quiz: If you’re presenting the results of an analysis, do you present the odds ratio or the marginal effects? Let’s say you have 150 birth records, and you want to see if smoking is associated with premature […]
That Night… A Ridiculous Rant of Just Over 2,500 Words
Posted on October 20, 2019 2 Comments
It’s late February, 2000. I’m just a few months away from graduating college and finally leaving that place. I’ve been mindful of what I do because I don’t want to get into trouble. I’m driving around with a fake insurance card in my crappy car, so I don’t go over the speed limit and I […]
The Hijacking of Fluorine 18.998, Part Three
Posted on September 23, 2019 4 Comments
In the last two blog posts (here and here), I told you about the history of fluoridation of water in the United States and other parts of the world. I told you how a dentist traveled out west to Colorado and, through observation and laboratory study, helped determine that adding fluoride to drinking water prevented […]
EpidemioLogical 