Broadcasting this morning from headquarters "Werwolf", and sharply disagreeing with those critics who claim that the problem with Nate Silver is that he is not male enough, Natalia Cecire claims that the problem with Nate Silver is that he is (and statistics are) much much much much much much much too male:
Works Cited: The Passion of Nate Silver (Sort Of): The "Nate Silver phenomenon" is a perfect example of Second Gilded Age puerility… a form of boyishness… a Tom Sawyer who insists on playing even when a slave's freedom is at stake… it is entirely appropriate that his statistical forecasting began not in politics but in sports.
Nate Silver's models cannot, and absolutely do not aim to, explain, say, the role of race in the election. And they cannot give definitive predictions either, only probabilities…. Statistics is an inherently puerile discipline…. It's not understanding; it's pointing…. Silver's most ardent defenders are wholly immersed in the logic of puerility… most notably Silver's fellow statistical Wunderkind, Ezra Klein…. Yup; Nate Silver, Galileo; I totally see it… the moral absence at the heart of statistical methods… break out of the puerility sandbox for a minute…. A Nieman Lab defense… celebrates that "FiveThirtyEight has set a new standard for horse race coverage" of elections. That this can be represented as an unqualified good speaks to the power of puerility…
