As for the forecasting abilities of scientists who blog, it turns out that we have a very narrow distribution. Picking against the spread, the highest number of games correctly predicted was 9, while the lowest was 7. Based on a set of tie-breakers, TomJoe of Micro World has been named the winner of this week, locked in a 5-way tie for most correct picks with myself, Odyssey, DGT and Chall. We'll have to get DGT to create a weekly trophy to be displayed on blogs, once she returns from her tour of the east coast. For now we can use this overly patriotic replica of the Super Bowl trophy. This week, you'll find it at MicroWorld
Ha! A five way tie. Just imagine how much butt-kicking I would have done if I actually knew something about "football." You'd all be wearing Depends for a week!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty darned happy with picking 8 correct games, especially considering I haven't watched one minute of football this year. Guys in helmets and tights isn't that appealing for some reason :)
ReplyDeleteIt's early foreigners, you've got 16 more weeks to guess randomly during the regular season...
ReplyDeleteWho's guessing randomly? I'll have you know that I have a system in place.
ReplyDeleteColo(u)rs or geography are not systems.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing herkies in anticipation!
ReplyDeleteColours or geography?!?!? What nonsense. Nothing beats the predictive power of reading coffee grounds.
ReplyDeleteHey, my SYSTEM netted me a 50% strike rate this round. Tell me that's not effective! It's a lot more efficient from a time-management perspective than spending hours actually watching the games and poring over stats.
ReplyDeleteAnd for what it's worth, there IS a "u" in colours. And an extra vowel in aluminium.
And an extra syllable. Al-Lu-Min-E-Um.
ReplyDeleteOdyssey, I think Dr. No could help you with next week's predictions.
No, no. You need to carefully consider the grounds in the bottom of your cup after an excellent cup of Peet's (or preferably Illy). Coffee machines that spew the stuff all over the place clearly won't work. And I've already completed next week's predictions. I managed that with yesterday's coffee ration.
ReplyDeleteAnd PiT can spell correctly. Unfortunately her mathematics are a little shaky. Her system netted precisely the same strike rate as guessing would be expected to. Of course those of us in the top tier didn't really do much better...
I'm a physiologist, not a mathematician and I never suggested my system was perfect but it is a system nonetheless. My objection was to PLS's assertion that I was guessing randomly. There's no guesswork involved in my system, I can assure you. It's all based on scientific principles.
ReplyDelete:(
ReplyDeleteI lost. Yep, that's me with the 7, based on what I thought was a superior system: In this match, if the mascots were to get into a fight, who would win? Of course, my predicted outcome in the mascot brawls was entirely based on conjecture.
Still, 7/16 is not entirely bad going. Hell, Mendelian genetics rarely lives up to the statistical probabilities in real life. (Grrrr....this was supposed to be the last trial of this blasted experiment but I got 1 (one!) sample that had the right genotype.) Probability can kiss my ass.
Nonetheless, I have a new system in place for this week's picks. I'm not telling what it is. Look out muppethuggers!
Urgh, what's that bitter taste in my mouth? Oh yea, the reminder that the fing Pats lived to ruin my life another day. *shakes fist*
ReplyDeleteahh... the last 5 mins of the Patriots' game I was shouting at the idiot who dropped the ball. I mean really?!?!? And no, I am not a Buffalo fan but it would have been sweet if the Brady gang would¨ve lost the first game of the season.
ReplyDeleteIt all coming back to me.... AGGRESSION is the name of the game :)
Let's see what happens week 2. THanks PLS for setting this up. I look forward to it so much!!
Thank you, thank you very much. I won't gloat.
ReplyDeleteOk, maybe a little bit!
If I had remembered division rivalries are hardly ever high scoring (see Colts v. Jags) I may have had 11 wins!