3 ms·

Who is doing this guys PR? clearly a series of nearly "ghostwritten" "stories"... this is about the 10th "version" with the same headline. Ranging from US tech

by 001sky 14y ago

Who is doing this guys PR? clearly a series of nearly "ghostwritten" "stories"... this is about the 10th "version" with the same headline. Ranging from US tech blogs to UK newspapers... The guy is writing a book and a democratic partisan -- says even...the New York Times. For reference: _____________ Why political journalists can't stand Nate Silver | http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4736736 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4736736 Nate Silver Took A Huge Shot Against Mainstream Political Pundits In His Latest Election Forecast http://www.businessinsider.com/nate-silver-on-who-political-pundits-who-are-mostly-entertainers-2012-11 http://www.businessinsider.com/nate-silver-on-who-political-... Pundits versus probabilities: The misguided backlash against Nate Silver http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/pundits_versus_probabilities.php http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/pundits_versus_proba... how-statistician-nate-silver-has-thrown-a-wrench-into-tradtional-election-metrics http://readwrite.com/2012/11/05/how-statistician-nate-silver-has-thrown-a-wrench-into-tradtional-election-metrics http://readwrite.com/2012/11/05/how-statistician-nate-silver... People Who Can't Do Math Are So Mad At Nate Silver http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/10/people-who-cant-do-math-are-so-mad-nate-silver/58460/ http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/10/people-who-c... ________________ but then something different? NY Times public editor: Silver has Dubious Judgement http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/under-attack-nate-silver-picks-the-wrong-defense/?smid=tw-share http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/under-attac... He has been out there promoting his book...which has increased his visibility further....In short, he’s everywhere... UK Telegraph: Nate Silver is partisan and wrong. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100186850/romney-obama-nate-silver-new-york-times/ http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100186850/romne... We’ve witnessed the evolution of polling from an objective gauge of the public mood to a propaganda tool: partisan and inaccurate.

mkr-hn 14y ago
It's hard to create a dramatic image of a close race when someone crunches numbers, says "nah," and convinces a lot of people. Attempts to discredit him were were bound to happen as the election got closer, along with inevitable defenses. I think you're so eager to unearth a PR conspiracy that you ignore the more plausible explanation: lazy media. edit: Check 001sky's submission history.
- 001sky 14y ago
  No, this is not an exercise in statistics (which I understand, trust me). The NY times public editor article clearly articulates he's promoting his book. Articles don't get written by people who wake up and all write the same headline, even lazy journalists do better than that, unless they are being fed information from PRs.
  - mkr-hn 14y ago
    So what? HN is full of obvious PR. PG even has an essay on it (http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html). That doesn't discredit him. You say you know statistics. Take a crack at his methodology if you think it's flawed: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/methodology/ http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/methodology/ I'm sure it would make a great blog post.
    - 001sky 14y ago
      I don't need to argue with him. Its the amusing narrative that using statistics somehow original or new that's interesting. I've even said here on HN some of the data visualizations they do are great. But the storylines or headlines are clearly cynical, PR driven linkbait. Just look at them. They all say the same thing, just slightly disquised like an undergrad trying to hide his plagiarism. Its just self-awareness that is missing. That's why i posted links: so people can see the patterns.
      - mkr-hn 14y ago
        It seems like you're trying to discredit Nate Silver by how bad his PR people are. I assume everything is PR so I can focus on merits. Are you interested in merits or taking shots at something you've (apparently) given no thought to? It's not like 2012 is the first time he's used this methodology. I've been following 538 since it launched in 2008 and generally find it to be insightful and informative. And more right than wrong. And when he's wrong, he usually has a good post to talk about how he got it wrong, and how the miss will factor into future projections.

by 001sky 14y ago

mkr-hn 14y ago

It's hard to create a dramatic image of a close race when someone crunches numbers, says "nah," and convinces a lot of people. Attempts to discredit him were were bound to happen as the election got closer, along with inevitable defenses. I think you're so eager to unearth a PR conspiracy that you ignore the more plausible explanation: lazy media. edit: Check 001sky's submission history.

001sky 14y ago
No, this is not an exercise in statistics (which I understand, trust me). The NY times public editor article clearly articulates he's promoting his book. Articles don't get written by people who wake up and all write the same headline, even lazy journalists do better than that, unless they are being fed information from PRs.
- mkr-hn 14y ago
  So what? HN is full of obvious PR. PG even has an essay on it (http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html). That doesn't discredit him. You say you know statistics. Take a crack at his methodology if you think it's flawed: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/methodology/ http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/methodology/ I'm sure it would make a great blog post.
  - 001sky 14y ago
    I don't need to argue with him. Its the amusing narrative that using statistics somehow original or new that's interesting. I've even said here on HN some of the data visualizations they do are great. But the storylines or headlines are clearly cynical, PR driven linkbait. Just look at them. They all say the same thing, just slightly disquised like an undergrad trying to hide his plagiarism. Its just self-awareness that is missing. That's why i posted links: so people can see the patterns.
    - mkr-hn 14y ago
      It seems like you're trying to discredit Nate Silver by how bad his PR people are. I assume everything is PR so I can focus on merits. Are you interested in merits or taking shots at something you've (apparently) given no thought to? It's not like 2012 is the first time he's used this methodology. I've been following 538 since it launched in 2008 and generally find it to be insightful and informative. And more right than wrong. And when he's wrong, he usually has a good post to talk about how he got it wrong, and how the miss will factor into future projections.