
Gary N. Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Pomona College. His research on financial markets statistical reasoning, and artificial intelligence, often involves stock market anomalies, statistical fallacies, and the misuse of data have been widely cited. He is the author of dozens of research articles and 16 books, most recently, Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science, Oxford University Press, 2023.
Archives


LLMs Are Still Faux Intelligence
Large language models are remarkable but it's a huge mistake to think they're "intelligence" in any meaningful sense of the word.
A Modest Proposal for the MLB
Major League Baseball got greedy and needs to reform.
The MLB Coin-Flipping Contest
What are the chances that wild-card teams will make it to the World Series and win?
Blue Zone BS: The Longevity Cluster Myth
We need to be reminded how much real science has done for us and how real science is done.
Confusing Correlation with Causation
Computers are amazing. But they can't distinguish between correlation and causation.
The LK-99 BS Further Undermines the Credibility of Science
The rejection or distortion of genuine science can have tragic consequences
Sabrina Ionescu’s Hot Hand
When basketball players hit a "streak," does that elevate the probability of success?
Using Data Like a Drunk Uses a Lamppost
Startup companies can be tempted to use statistics for support instead of real illumination
The LLM Deep Fake—Follow the Money
Hype sells. Just look at what's happening with AI
The Death of Peer Review?
Science is built on useful research and thoroughly vetted peer review
A World Without Work? Here We Go Again
Large language models still can't replace critical thinking
An Illusion of Emergence, Part 2
A figure can tell a story but, intentionally or unintentionally, the story that is told may be fiction
A Graph Can Tell a Story—Sometimes It’s an Illusion
Mistakes, chicanery, and "chartjunk" can undermine the usefulness of graphs
Learning to Communicate
Why writing skills are so important, especially in today's artificial world
Text Generators, Education, and Critical Thinking: an Update
The fundamental problem remains that, not knowing what words mean, AI has no critical thinking abilities
Let’s Take the “I” Out of AI
Large language models, though impressive, are not the solution. They may well be the catalyst for calamity.
Does New A.I. Live Up to the Hype?
Experts are finding ChatGPT and other LLMs unimpressive, but investors aren't getting the memo
Goodhart’s Law and Scientific Innovation in Academia
Many university researchers are leaving academia so they can actually get things done