I wish there were more Cosma Shalizis in the world. Somehow, statistics has become the ultimate in cargo cult mathematics. We need more statisticians who can write clearly to set fire to our thatched airplanes.
"Thatched airplanes" being an imitation of the real thing.
Specifically, I'm think of things like http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/weblog/491.html and http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/weblog/656.html