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Tim Lambert's weblog
Tim Lambert (deltoidblog AT gmail.com) is a computer scientist at the University of New South Wales.
April 30, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
One more quote from yesterday's Chronicle of Higher Education article: Mr. Lott also points out that because the claim of coding errors appears in a law review, it has not been subject to review by third-party scholars, as would have...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • •
April 29, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
David Glenn has an article (subscription required) in The Chronicle of Higher Education on the Ayres/Donohue/Lott dispute. Here are the responses from Lott and Whitley to the allegation of coding errors: Mr. Lott replies that the alleged coding errors are...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • •
April 28, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
John Quiggin comments on the collateral damage the Lott affair has inflicted on Lott's allies and supporters. Chris Lawrence has an update to his earlier post. Tapped has a brief summary of the latest installment in the saga. Julian Sanchez...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • •
April 27, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
skippy comments on Lott's "coding errors". Tom Spencer thinks that Lott's days are numbered. Mike Spenis has written off Lott. Chris Lawrence agrees that there were coding errors but argues that is easy to make such errors. I agree that...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • •
April 26, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
Several people have commented on the latest developments. Atrios has resolved that Lott is a liar and a fraud. Kevin Drum has his usual nice summary. Jesse Taylor isn't really interested because he believes that Lott has already been discredited....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • •
Category: links
Kevin Drum provides a nice summary of Friday's long posting about weighting. Cosma Shalizi tells us that his wife's boss is on the NAS Panel on firearms. Right now I'm thinking of a line of clothing emblazoned with: "I got...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:48 PM • •
April 25, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
This is a long post, so I'll start with two summaries. One sentence summary: It looks as if Lott might have been caught cooking his "more guns, less crime" data. One paragraph summary: Ian Ayres and John Donohue wrote a...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • • 2 TrackBacks
Category: survey
A few days ago I observed that Lott had changed his story from his original, unworkable, claim that he had used 1836 categories (sex, race, age and state) to weight his data to the claim that he had used just...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • • 1 TrackBacks
Category: survey
Donald Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief of Science has an editorial (subscription required) in the April 18 edition entitled "Research Fraud and Public Policy". Here is some of it: Michael Bellesiles, of Emory University, supported the gun control case with a book called...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • •
Category: Levitt
I was mistaken when I suggested that the email Dooher sent Reynolds was a hoax. I emailed Dooher asking him if he had written the letter and when I didn't get a reply, because of the weird stuff about goatees...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 24, 2003
Category: More Guns Less Crime
David Kaun, who is Professor of Economics at University of California Santa Cruz has an article over at BuzzFlash discussing Lott's More Guns, Less Crime....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:58 PM • •
Category: Levitt
It would seem that some wag has had some fun at poor Professor Reynolds' expense. Reynolds has an update with an email supposedly from one Brendan Dooher that reads: I worked with the study director at the National Academy of...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 23, 2003
Category: Levitt
Some responses to Glenn Reynolds' post yesterday: Tbogg considers Reynolds to be washing his hands and changing the subject. Tom Spencer observes that it is dishonest of Reynolds to respond to criticism without providing a link to that criticism. Roger...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 22, 2003
Category: links
Links from Guy Cabot, Alan Schussman (twice!)....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:48 PM • •
Category: survey
Kevin Drum comments on Lott's weighting scheme. He also links to a January posting which has this explanation from Lott explaining how he might have got a weight of 1/8 from his weighting procedure (my emphasis). Whether it is possible...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • •
Category: Levitt
Glenn Reynolds finally gets around to blogging on the accusation in his article that Levitt is "rabidly antigun". Remarkably, Reynolds does not mention or link to any of the discussion about this that has occurred on many blogs....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 21, 2003
Category: links
Incoming links from Tapped and American Politics Journal....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:48 PM • •
Category: survey
Last September Lott told Lindgren that he "weighted his respondents by demographic information taken from his main national study in More Guns, Less Crime" On January 14 he provided more details: I did not weight the sample by household size...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • •
April 20, 2003
Category: Levitt
Roger Ailes comments on Reynolds and Kopel's failure to show any evidence in support of the "rabidly antigun" claim. Greg Beato also has some extensive comments. Tom Spencer has two comments, as does Atrios here and here....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 19, 2003
Category: survey
Otis Dudley Duncan has written an excellent article on Lott and defensive gun use surveys. I'll quote from the conclusion, but you really should read the whole thing: Investigators are obliged to tell the truth about what they take from...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • •
April 17, 2003
Category: misc
Ted Barlow thinks that Mac Diva overstates her case against Lott's views on non-gun issues. I agree with him. While it is relevant to note that Lott's research always seems to produce results supporting a right-wing agenda, in most of...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:40 PM • •
Category: Levitt
Max Sawicky links here, as does Brad Delong and Hesiod. Meanwhile, in a post that seems to have drifted in from some alternate reality, the William Sjostrom take on the Kopel/Reynolds/Lott attacks on Levitt is that Brad Delong is a...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 16, 2003
Category: Levitt
Mac Diva is trying to figure out why Lott does the things he does. Atrios explains why he cares about Lott. Brad Delong says that I have "a very strong case". Matt Yglesias has some thoughtful comments on appropriate behaviour...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 15, 2003
Category: Levitt
Kevin Drum has a nice summary on Lott's anonymous attack on Levitt. Kieran Healy tells what Lott's next step will be. Brian Linse thinks Reynolds and Kopel should offer some answers. Atrios links here. And Tom Spencer has two posts....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 14, 2003
Category: Levitt
First, a recap and a time line on the Kopel/Lott/Reynolds attacks on Steve Levitt: 16 Aug 2001 Glenn Reynolds claims that the NAS panel is "stacked" with "ardent supporters of gun control", especially Levitt. 29 Aug 2001 Dave Kopel and...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 12, 2003
Category: Levitt
You can read Steve Levitt's op-ed on pools and guns here. It is quite clear from the op-ed why he wrote it: he lost his son and he didn't want another parent to lose a child to a preventable accident....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 11, 2003
Category: Levitt
I asked Steve Levitt about Lott's attack. He comments: I wrote that op-ed piece on swimming pools and guns almost a full year before it was published. Members of the U of C publicity department can attest to that. I...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 10, 2003
Category: files
Otis Dudley Duncan This discussion is concerned with four topics: (1) Lott’s references to, remarks about, and discussions of DGU statistics originating in sample surveys or polls carried out by other investigators; (2) Lott’s claims about a survey he says...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 9:33 PM • •
Category: Levitt
Just so people don't have to take my word for the nature of Lott's attack on Levitt, here are Lott's exact words. On page 54: - Another panel member, Steve Levitt, an economist, has been described in media reports as...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 9, 2003
Category: Levitt
I've been reading Lott's new book, The Bias against Guns. Chapter 3 is entitled "How the Government Works against Gun Ownership". The heart of the chapter is on pages 53--55, where he argues that the National Academy of Sciences stacks...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 6:30 AM • •
April 8, 2003
Category: links
John Quiggin has written an article for the Australian Financial Review examining the role weblogs played in the John and Trent Lott affairs. Jim Henley has some interesting comments on gun issues including his assessment of Lott....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:48 PM • •
Category: MaryRosh
Lott has a long message at his website where he discusses Mary Rosh and argues that when he claimed that he had "not participated in the firearms discussion group nor in the apparent online newsgroup discussions", he was not lying:...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 7:54 AM • •
April 7, 2003
Category: links
John Quiggin gives some more examples of folks behaving like the Heartland Institute and the Independence Institute and covering up their mistakes rather than acknowledging them....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 10:48 PM • •
Category: survey
After I concluded yesterday that Kopel had probably added the attribution to Kleck in one Lott op-ed, Lott has weighed in, contradicting Kopel's story. In this posting Lott writes: "My vague recollection of what happened is that David Kopel (Research...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • •
April 6, 2003
Category: survey
So, was the attribution of the 98% to Kleck's study in the Lott quote below made by Lott, or did Dave Kopel add it? "Guns clearly deter criminals, with Americans using guns defensively over 2 million times each year---five times...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 3:05 PM • •
April 5, 2003
Category: files
[Note: This is a copy of a document found on John Lott's website on April 6, 2003. I have added critical commentry, written in italics like this. Tim Lambert ] ------ Forwarded Message From: "Dave Kopel" Date: Sun, 9 Mar...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 8:33 PM • • 1 TrackBacks
Category: files
[Note: This is a copy of a document found at this link on John Lott's website on April 6, 2003. I have added critical commentary, written in italics like this. Tim Lambert ] Statement on John Lott's Survey Work on...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 8:33 PM • •
April 3, 2003
Category: links
Noam Alaska doesn't think much of Lott's new book. Mac Diva explains what she thinks is wrong with Lott's research....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 9:48 PM • •
Category: survey
Julian Sanchez suggests that if Lott really got the 98% from his survey, then by marrying the 2.5 million Kleck DGU estimate with the 98% brandishing number, Lott is indulging in cherry-picking the numbers most favourable to his position from...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 2:05 PM • •
April 2, 2003
Category: survey
Julian Sanchez has another thoughtful post on the question of whether it was Lott or Kopel who attributed the 98% to Kleck. I'm still trying to collect my thoughts on this one, but I should correct one statement he makes....
Posted by Tim Lambert at 2:05 PM • •
April 1, 2003
Category: survey
Pro-gun activist Neal Knox has leaped to Lott's defence. He claims that Lott is in trouble for getting the same result in his survey as Kleck when in fact concerns were raised because Lott's brandishing number was so very different...
Posted by Tim Lambert at 2:05 PM • •
