Brian Tarran, Author at Significance magazine

Archive

Ask a statistician: Why can we not predict earthquakes?

Hundreds of people have been killed since the start of the year as a result…

Brian TarranAugust 25, 2016

News

Voting matters – August 2016 issue preview

Some readers may find it ironic that, less than two months after the UK voted…

Brian TarranAugust 9, 2016

News

Meet Significance at the Joint Statistical Meetings

Significance is Chicago-bound this weekend to take part in the annual Joint Statistical Meetings. We…

Brian TarranJuly 26, 2016

Archive

Belgium to win Euro 2016? A Q&A on probabilistic predictions

England fans might have been disappointed to see their football team crash out of the…

Brian TarranJune 30, 2016

News

A summer of sport (and statistics)

It has been four years since sport last graced the cover of our print magazine.…

Brian TarranJune 8, 2016

Archive

What would happen if UK residents stopped having babies?

For our latest 'Ask a statistician' column, the Year 6 children of Milwards Primary School…

Brian TarranMay 4, 2016

News

The past, present and future of prediction

Our US readers will be aware that April is Mathematics Awareness Month (MAM) – and…

Brian TarranApril 11, 2016

Archive

Yes, the polls were wrong. But it is time we understood their limitations

“General election polls in 2015 ‘the most inaccurate’,” said the BBC. “Polling shake-up planned after…

Brian TarranApril 5, 2016

Archive

Ask a statistician: What is the calorific cost of McDonald’s revenue growth?

Robin Bray-Hurren, a calligrapher and printmaker from South London, asks: "In order for McDonald’s to…

Brian TarranMarch 1, 2016

Archive

In Brexit vote, economic arguments may trump cultural concerns, says study

On 23 June, the United Kingdom will vote on whether to remain a member of…

Brian TarranFebruary 25, 2016

News

Introducing the new-look Significance

You’ve probably noticed that things look a little different here. To coincide with the start…

Brian TarranFebruary 16, 2016

A game about correlations that’s more than just fun

If you haven’t played Guess The Correlation yet, you definitely should – but please read…

Brian TarranFebruary 9, 2016

Archive

Ask a statistician: What are the chances of World War III?

In the second instalment of our new 'Ask A Statistician' column, Peter McIntyre, a pharmaceutical…

Brian TarranJanuary 5, 2016

News

The 10 most-read articles of 2015

In a year that has seen Star Wars return to the big screen, it is…

Brian TarranDecember 23, 2015

Archive

The failure of the election polls and the future of survey research

Before joining Significance, I spent more than a decade reporting on the market research and…

Brian TarranNovember 24, 2015

Archive

Paper cuts: Do ambient light levels influence criminal activities?

People often feel less safe when walking in the dark, for understandable reasons. It’s harder…

Brian TarranNovember 17, 2015

Archive

Ask a statistician: Will humans one day live forever?

Henry Cole, a 17-year-old student, asks: "Almost every day on the news there is a…

Brian TarranOctober 26, 2015

Archive

Politics is broken: The Guardian’s Alberto Nardelli on the fragmentation of party support

It’s almost the end of party conference season in the UK – a time in…

Brian TarranOctober 8, 2015

News

The winner of the 2015 Young Statisticians Writing Competition is…

James Skeffington was today announced as the winner of the 2015 Young Statisticians Writing Competition…

Brian TarranSeptember 9, 2015

News

Stories and statistics – August 2015 issue preview

In a 2010 New York Times column, mathematician John Allen Paulos wrote about stories and…

Brian TarranAugust 12, 2015