Read on Twitter
1/ After watching many takes bashing "analytics" for GB's 4th and Goal decision this weekend, it's clear to me that the analytics community has so much work left to make analytics accessible to the broader public who aren't having these conversations on Twitter.
2/ At its core, people don't understand what analytics/data is.
In the NFL, there is a "right" way of doing things. Anything that strays away from that is called analytics. But that highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of how and why we use data in ANY field.
In the NFL, there is a "right" way of doing things. Anything that strays away from that is called analytics. But that highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of how and why we use data in ANY field.
3/ Data is a tool humans use to guide decisions, not dictate them. We use data to help us see past our biases, not to confirm them.
More broadly, we use data to open our eyes to possibilities we can't see with our normal way of thinking.
More broadly, we use data to open our eyes to possibilities we can't see with our normal way of thinking.
4/ Sometimes data tells us to do what we originally would have, but other times it tells us to do something off the beaten path. But to treat analytics as a catch all for all things non-traditional leads leads to misrepresentations in media.
Here's @stephenasmith on Monday:
Here's @stephenasmith on Monday:
5/ The way the NFL community views analytics is that it is a set of rules that completely defies traditional logic (left graph). In reality, much of analytics says to follow traditional thinking (right graph)!
6/ Even @ben_bot_baldwin said to go for it on 4th and Goal, agreeing with the traditional logic! (This is a bot that computes the best decision for a team throughout the game, neat!) https://twitter.com/benbbaldwin/status/1354236018870923271
7/ We have an opportunity to expand the reach of analytics.
@c3pleo and I created @BreakoutDynasty to do just that. We're creating 2 minute quick takes to explain metrics in an interesting, fun, and accessible manner. Check us out!
@c3pleo and I created @BreakoutDynasty to do just that. We're creating 2 minute quick takes to explain metrics in an interesting, fun, and accessible manner. Check us out!
