Monday, December 12, 2011

Philip Tetlock & Barbara Mellers on Forecasting Tournament

Brilliant - a must watch!!

"No matter how unequivocal the evidence that experts cannot outpredict chimps or extrapolation algorithms, we should expect business to unfold as usual: pundits will continue to warn us on talk shows and op-ed pages of what will happen unless we dutifully follow their policy prescriptions.  We — the consumers of expert pronouncements — are in thrall to experts for the same reasons that our ancestors submitted to shamans and oracles: our uncontrollable need to believe in a controllable world and our flawed understanding of the laws of chance.  We lack the willpower and good sense to resist the snake oil products on offer.  Who wants to believe that, on the big questions, we could do as well tossing a coin as by consulting accredited experts?"


Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? by Philip Tetlock

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