2018 Midterms

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tragabigzanda
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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FUCK ICE
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Green Habit
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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run2death wrote:Also like to point out that I was right about 538 leaving ESPN.
But still with Disney, and not really changing their operations at all. You'll have to fill us in later if you can on how happy the ABC News branch is with them.
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tragabigzanda
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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FUCK ICE
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Wed January 14, 2026 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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FUCK ICE
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Wed January 14, 2026 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Simple Torture
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by Simple Torture »

tragabigzanda wrote:
Green Habit wrote:
run2death wrote:Also like to point out that I was right about 538 leaving ESPN.
But still with Disney, and not really changing their operations at all. You'll have to fill us in later if you can on how happy the ABC News branch is with them.
wait, 538 is owned by Disney???
ABC, same thing.
McParadigm wrote:lol
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by Green Habit »

tragabigzanda wrote:
Green Habit wrote:
run2death wrote:Also like to point out that I was right about 538 leaving ESPN.
But still with Disney, and not really changing their operations at all. You'll have to fill us in later if you can on how happy the ABC News branch is with them.
wait, 538 is owned by Disney???
I don't think they outright own it, but they first partnered with ESPN, and now ABC News, who of course are both Disney subsidiaries.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by Green Habit »

tragabigzanda wrote:
Green Habit wrote:Here's the deal with election models.
Image
Gonna have to reply with some GIF from the other great 90s sitcom. Here's one at random:

Image
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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"All models are wrong, but some are useful."
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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I'm all for "the math" and election models, I just don't think they are very useful anymore.

To me, 538 isn't any more valuable or useful than something like Real Clear Politics.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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As someone who builds these kinds of models/algorithms for a living, I could watch the underinformed tilt against the Nate Silver windmill all day.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by run2death »

Yes thodoks, you're smarter than everyone else.

Thanks for the insight.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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Tester looks likely. Cool.
(patriotic choking noises)
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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run2death wrote:Yes thodoks, you're smarter than everyone else.

Thanks for the insight.
I've read a few of your criticisms, but what are your objections to Silver? Or perhaps more precisely, what are your objections to what he's doing in practice?
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by run2death »

--- wrote:
run2death wrote:Yes thodoks, you're smarter than everyone else.

Thanks for the insight.
I've read a few of your criticisms, but what are your objections to Silver? Or perhaps more precisely, what are your objections to what he's doing in practice?
read the 2016 election thread... go ahead... I'll wait
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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FUCK ICE
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Wed January 14, 2026 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by --- »

run2death wrote:
--- wrote:
run2death wrote:Yes thodoks, you're smarter than everyone else.

Thanks for the insight.
I've read a few of your criticisms, but what are your objections to Silver? Or perhaps more precisely, what are your objections to what he's doing in practice?
read the 2016 election thread... go ahead... I'll wait
That's a big thread. Can you maybe link me to your first post?

I'll read your criticisms in good faith and be less of a jerk about the issue, if you're game.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by Simple Torture »

McParadigm wrote:Tester looks likely. Cool.
Looks like all of the red counties are at 100% reported and they're still waiting for 25% of the vote in Missoula. Looks promising.
McParadigm wrote:lol
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by E.H. Ruddock »

Not sure about promising, he's currently down, right?
Clouuuuds Rolll byyy...BANG BANG BANG BANG
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Re: 2018 Midterms

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tragabigzanda wrote:
run2death wrote:Yes thodoks, you're smarter than everyone else.

Thanks for the insight.
Seriously. Where does Silver's modeling account for the 3 vote lead that a State Senate candidate currently holds here in MT? Or for the multitude of GOP-lead voting restrictions? Math is great and all, but does nothing to communicate the stories of what is happening on the ground in real time.
That's not the ambition of a model, and to the extent that Silver (or any practitioner) leads others to believe otherwise, he is failing to do his job to properly communicate the value any model can be expected to add to a particular process.
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Re: 2018 Midterms

Post by 4/5 »

Regard Nate Silver specifically, I couldn't care less about him personally. He's not my guy or anything like that. But I think he still does really good work and I think the polls for this election season did a good job. I'm honestly a bit confused why some people are trumpeting the irrelevance of polling today.

If a person only read 538 stuff about the election for the last year and saw the results today I think she would be like "yeah, that's about right."
"I want to see the whole picture--as nearly as I can. I don't want to put on the blinders of 'good and bad,' and limit my vision."-- In Dubious Battle

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