Resources for Bayesian data analysis, causal inference, epistemology, productivity, writing, lecturing, and science reading.
Richard McElreath’s Bayesian data analysis course with a strong causal-modeling emphasis. Very didactical and a good first stop for students who want intuition before formalism.
- Course playlist / YouTube channel — McElreath’s lectures and course playlists.
- Course materials (2025 edition) — current course repository with slides, code, and notes.
- Book page — the current second-edition book page.
A more mathematical approach to Bayesian statistics.
- Aki Vehtari’s course — lectures with links to videos and supporting material.
- Bayesian Data Analysis (PDF) — the main text for the course.
- Andrew Gelman’s book page — additional material and background.
Tools and examples for moving from model ideas to useful analysis.
- Aki Vehtari’s workflow video — a nice overview of workflow thinking.
- Birthdays case study — a compact applied example.
- McElreath’s workflow video — workflow discussed from a practical modeling perspective.
- Slides — companion slides for the talk above.
- And finally the book.
A set of entry points from statistics and philosophy of science.
- McElreath’s causal inference course — useful because parts of it overlap with the statistical rethinking material.
- Judea Pearl, Causality — foundational work on causal reasoning.
- Pearl keynote at PyData — a short and accessible talk.
- The Causal Primer — short book with chapters available for download.
- Jonas Peters MIT course — especially useful for bivariate causal questions.
- Jonas Peters handout — course notes.
- Jonas Peters, Elements of Causal Inference — compact and practical.
- Jonas Peters website — more resources and links.
- Dagitty — a very handy web tool for directed acyclic graphs.
A platform for statistical modeling and computation.
- Stan — the main project site.
- Stan user guide — a practical starting point.
- Stan YouTube page — official talks and tutorials.
- Bob Carpenter talk 1 — one of the better introductions from a Stan developer.
- Bob Carpenter talk 2 — another useful talk.
- Michael Betancourt talk — strong conceptual framing.
- Michael Betancourt’s website — excellent tutorials and essays.
Introductory material and one good book on reading charts critically.
- Introduction to Data Science, chapter 11 — a nice introduction with examples of bad graphs.
- How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information — practical guidance on spotting misleading charts and visual claims.
- Very nice and enjoyable Data Visualization. A practical introduction by Kieran Healy.
A few pieces that are helpful when talking about scientific knowledge, uncertainty, and method.
- Science Is Like a Chicken Coop — a memorable McElreath talk about science and inference.
- Science as Amateur Software Development — another good McElreath talk on scientific practice.
- Science as Amateur Software Development (2023 edition) — updated version of the same theme.
- The Problem with Cultural Evolution — useful for discussions about explanation and evidence.
- Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations — classic statement of the growth of scientific knowledge through conjecture and criticism.
- Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions — the classic account of scientific paradigm change.
- Paul Feyerabend, Against Method — a provocative critique of methodological rules in science.
Resources for clear prose, scientific writing, and teaching writing to others.
- Larry McEnerney: writing effectively — a strong introduction to academic writing (transcript of the talk and handout).
- Larry McEnerney: writing beyond the academy — especially useful for writing for broader audiences (transcript).
- Judith Swan: scientific writing — practical advice from the Princeton Writing Program.
- Handout — companion notes for Swan’s talk.
- The Science of Scientific Writing — concise notes on the classic article.
- Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style — a modern, evidence-aware guide to clear prose.
- Francis-Noël Thomas and Mark Turner, Clear and Simple as the Truth — a classic on prose style and transparent writing.
- Roy Peter Clark, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer — practical sentence-level and revision tools.
Advice on presenting ideas clearly and memorably.
- Patrick Winston, How to Speak — a classic lecture on speaking well.
- Notes — companion notes.
- Chip and Dan Heath, Made to Stick — useful for designing talks that people actually remember.
Books and videos that are especially useful for organizing work, projects, and collaboration.
- David Allen, Getting Things Done — the core GTD book for personal productivity and stress-free execution.
- David Allen and Edward Lamont, Team: Getting Things Done with Others — GTD applied to team collaboration, communication, and follow-through.
- GTD channel — the official GTD YouTube channel.
- Overview of Getting Things Done (GTD) — a compact explanation of the method.
- How to Decide What to Do — a short, practical talk on next actions and choosing work.
- Doing Nothing — a useful reminder that not every moment needs a task.
- David Allen and Ed Lamont talk about Team — a good companion to the team book.
- The Art of Stress-Free Productivity at TEDxClaremontColleges — a canonical David Allen talk.
- Feynman, R. P., and Leighton, R. (1985). Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! — lively stories from a great scientific mind.
- James Gleick, Chaos: Making a New Science — a great popular introduction to chaos theory.
- James Gleick, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood — a broad history of information as a scientific and cultural idea.
- Carly Anne York, The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog — curious, funny, and serious science writing about the odd paths discovery can take.