by Mean Dean » Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:30 pm
Let's think a bit about what would be involved in this conspiracy theory, and what anyone's motivations would be.
If a player hit .250 in real life, and SOM wants him to hit .250 in their simulation, there's a really simple way to do that: Set up all the cards so that the guy has a 25% probability to get a hit.
Trying to make corrections midstream -- especially if it's trying to correct as many player and team stats as Nev seems to think it is -- would get very hairy, very quickly. After all, if the .250 hitter is set up to hit .250 without you messing with him, then logically, if you do start messing with him, you're just going to have to make an equal correction in the opposite direction later. So right there, one would ask, what is the point.
Furthermore, what happens when I make a .250 hitter hit .300 and I'm also correcting team wins? When he hits .300, the team is going to win more. I guess now I've gotta start damping down on the other players? And of course, if this team is winning more, other teams are losing more. I guess their players have to get better now?
The issue gets out of control, exponentially. I actually wouldn't think it's even possible to juggle all those balls successfully. If it is, it would in all probability be a huge, complex piece of code. I can't imagine that it's already in there and Bernie is somehow missing it.
And why would SOM even [i:1c9e85583a]do[/i:1c9e85583a] this? What would be the point of making a .250 hitter more or less than a .250 hitter for certain stretches, while still making sure he ends up at .250 anyway?
If I'm not mistaken, Nev's answer is "because momentum exists in real life." But:
1. Becoming a worse hitter because you're doing well (or vice versa) is a truly unique definition of "momentum".
2. The "hot hand" (which, again, is the [i:1c9e85583a]opposite[/i:1c9e85583a] of what is usually claimed here) doesn't exist.
3. (acknowledging that a lot of people believe in the "hot hand", while simultaneously, yet again, pointing out that it is the opposite of what is usually claimed...)
If SOM does think momentum is something that -- even though it makes more things exponentially more difficult -- is so important that it [i:1c9e85583a]must[/i:1c9e85583a] be captured... then why the heck would they then refuse to tell the public about it?? It would be something that no other game has, that in their opinion makes the game more realistic.
It's both practically and psychologically implausible, IMO.
[quote:1c9e85583a]What I really hear you saying, Dean, is that there's only a slight chance normalization is real!
But there's still a chance! Let the debate continue![/quote:1c9e85583a]Yeah, I know what you mean. :oops:
Last edited by
Mean Dean on Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.