Quote:
Originally Posted by Pwn_Master
Crazy that baseball was revolutionized cuz a massive troll accidentally trolled with a correct analysis.
I lump Bill James in the same category as Malcolm Gladwell and Bill Simmons. They're clever, imaginative writers who ask compelling questions about interesting topics. When you read their work it often makes you think (particularly Gladwell), which is a rewarding outcome of reading a book in and of itself. But the part of the scientific method that comes
after the intriguing hypothesis is where their work typically hits a snag. Faux scientist is a mean-sounding label but it's not completely out of line.
I'm reading James' book
Popular Crime right now, and the experience hasn't been a total bust. But James is often critical of the method by which others have arrived at conclusions, after which he will pose an alternative conclusion that he feels good about without subjecting his own thought process to the same kind of scrutiny. His stance on this Paterno thing doesn't shock me given his book. He likes to explore instances of society drawing a conclusion that isn't supported by the evidence, and this is probably the biggest story to arise since he was published. He's coming across as a fool though, and he should probably stop talking before people start to wonder if he's just a nerdy guy who stumbled into something useful by accident.
Last edited by Dean Manifest; 07-16-2012 at 03:16 PM.