Old hat for a lot of us around here, but interesting regardless.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...466979118.html
Old hat for a lot of us around here, but interesting regardless.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...466979118.html
Great Article....
Thanks for posting it.
Great book -- I just read it a month ago or so. It should be required reading in high school math as far as I'm concerned. It's a very accessible primer on probability and chance from a historical perspective.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
Just because a 56-game hitting streaks happen in random models doesn't mean DiMaggio wasn't doing something to initiate the streak.
Also, even if he didn't do something special to initiate it, that doesn't mean DiMaggio's feat shouldn't celebrated. I'm sure somebody would finish 755 HRs or more in those models as well, which doesn't make the accomplishment less significant.
I read this or something similar a few years ago and had the same thought...so what? Is the implication that there is an element of luck in our celebrated achievements? Hardly a revelation.
I'm not sure how you read that article and came to the conclusion that DiMaggio's streak shouldn't be celebrated or that he had no role in accomplishing it. Here's what I don't understand: if you know the article is just going to rub you the wrong way, then why read it?Originally Posted by kpresidente
How do we know he's not Mel Torme?
This is how...
...DiMaggio’s streak has been interpreted as a feat of mythic proportion, seen as a heroic, even miraculous, spurt of unrivaled effort and concentration.
But was it? Or was this epic moment simply a fluke?
Last edited by kpresidente; 07-10-2009 at 03:16 PM.
The author is simply asking a question, one which they don't answer. The evidence is presented and the reader is left to draw their own conclusion. I personally think the streak was a perfect mixture of skill and luck. You absolutely must have both to have a streak like that.
I realize that the author poses that question early in the article, but he doesn't attempt to prove either position.
How do we know he's not Mel Torme?
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