When human judgment and big data intersect there are some funny things that happen

I've become invested with this symbolic power. It really does transcend what I'm actually doing and what I actually deserve.

Not only does political coverage often lose the signal—it frequently accentuates the noise.

The problem is that when polls are wrong, they tend to be wrong in the same direction. If they miss in New Hampshire, for instance, they all miss on the same mistake.

Distinguishing the signal from the noise requires both scientific knowledge and self-knowledge: the serenity to accept the things we cannot predict, the courage to predict the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

We speak for them. We imbue them with meaning.

In baseball you have terrific data and you can be a lot more creative with it.