A Data Wonk On The Loose
The 2024-2025 NBA season can be summarized as the year of a blockbuster trade, a serious setback for a young superstar, and an ageless LeBron. The shocking midseason trade that sent Luka Don i to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis was much more welcomed by Lakers fans than Dallas fans. Not surprisingly, Continue reading "Jay s 2024-25 NBA Statistical Wrap-up" - The post Jay s…
Those who saw the Timberwolves finish off the Suns in the first round of the playoffs and witnessed Ant-man s 40 point explosion and this moment in particular: We all had the same question pop into their minds: Where was Michael Jordan, nine months before Anthony Edwards was born? I have yet to confirm Jordan s presence Continue reading "Is Ant Edwards Michael Jordan s son?" - The post Is Ant…
Victor Wembanyama, affectionately dubbed Wemby, entered the NBA last October amid sky-high expectations, even higher than his towering 7 4 frame. Before even stepping onto the court, predictions about his career varied widely from potential future GOAT, evoking comparisons to the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to the cautionary tales of Shawn Bradley and Ralph Sampson, Continue reading "It s Time…
The Battle for Science in the Age of Misinformation Click here to order on Amazon In Distrust Big Data, Data Torturing, and the Assault on Science, Gary Smith discusses the ills plaguing science and the public s trust in it. The central theme is that science and scientific credibility are under attack on three fronts: Continue reading "Book Review: Distrust Big Data, Data Torturing, and the…
Despite the fact that LeBron James has now scored more total points than anyone in the history of the NBA, it appears that a consensus has been reached that his longevity and consistent greatness has never quite reached the Michael Jordan level. Recently, Jordan s rookie card has skyrocketed in value, the MVP trophy has been Continue reading "Who is the Regular Season GOAT of the NBA (for the last…
The first time I suspected my daughter was a mutant was when she was 8 years old and said something about being excited to be the age of her favorite color teal. I had heard about synesthesia, which is a rare hereditary perceptual condition in which senses are combined in surprising ways: sounds may trigger Continue reading "Radiohead, Synesthesia, and the Mutants Among Us" - The post Radiohead,…
Fortunately, there are very few decisions in life that can have truly catastrophic consequences if we get them wrong. The vast majority of choices we make are mundane and will not make any major difference either way. Whether or not the outcomes are predictable, let s call these potentially catastrophic decisions high variance because they can Continue reading "The Vaccine Decision: Get It Right"…
By now you ve probably seen the viral video of Steph Curry draining 105 3-pointers in a row during practice. You re probably thinking that guy can shoot well! , but it s a lot more than that. Historically, he s shot an amazing 65% during the NBA 3-point shootout competition, but let s be generous and say that his 3-point Continue reading "Steph Curry Can Shoot (and the Hot Hand is Real)" - The…
Okay, so now that the president has shown us that COVID-19 is a piece of cake as long as you have a tiger blood transfusion at the ready, we can focus on more important things: I m honored to say that poker legend Daniel Negreanu glanced at my last blog entry and said that it Continue reading "A Data Scientist Looks at Poker Data Part 2" - The post A Data Scientist Looks at Poker Data Part 2…
So, are you tired of arguing about things like whether or not the CDC stated that only 6% of the official deaths were due to COVID-19? Me too. (By the way, the easiest way to show that, if anything, the death count is an underestimate is to point out that the excess deaths in the Continue reading "A Data Scientist Looks at Poker Data" - The post A Data Scientist Looks at Poker Data appeared first…