*makes more cookies* RIGHT. Some cookies for you... *hides some cookies and passes them to kathrynrose surreptitiously* and um, yep, that's all the cookies!
Whooo top 15! I am looking back at the amount of writing I've done just for this season and feeling intimidated by it. Heh.
Hey, Gary, are you still keeping track of how many Things have been written for Idol, total and per season?
I have some small amount of sympathy for the parent who sent the bill - I bet organizing the birthday outing was expensive and maybe there were a lot of no-shows who didn't bother to call and say "hey, won't be able to make it..." but um... that sympathy only extends so far. Sending a bill home with a kid is a pretty snotty way of resolving that kind of problem. People. Yeesh.
In 28 hours I get in a car with my three children and drive four hours to a place that doesn't have cellphone coverage (let alone internet), so it's all on you ;)
(It's going to be very tricky for me this week - will have to get a piece done TONIGHT, while simultaneously planning and packing... and then I will have no way to keep an eye on polls etc.)
The Stat Sheet, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NumberskickthehobbitJanuary 20 2015, 23:31:19 UTC
OK. I'm seeing a lot go around about my mysterious stats sheet, and so I want to go ahead and talk about it a bit. This is going to be split over a few comments, because lj is picky about comment length.
But why did you do it, or: Jenn Has No Life, and You Can Too!
I'm not sure how many people are aware of this, but I'm a graduate student in the sciences. I have a BS in Chemistry, and I minored in math in college. I like numbers. I really like doing statistical analysis-I find it super-interesting and think it's compelling. I think that data is beautiful and I like pulling out trends when I can.
I went ahead and made the spreadsheet that I did because I was curious as to whether or not there was an overall trend in how people had done in Idol-if there was a certain "cut-off point" where we could have predicted who was going to end up in the Top 50 or whatnot.
Originally I wondered if I could predict the Top Ten. I wanted to ride that out and see if it was the case.
Ultimately, though, I did it because I am a huge nerd and I
( ... )
Re: The Stat Sheet, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NumberskickthehobbitJanuary 20 2015, 23:32:25 UTC
And what did you find?
Ultimately, I found out what I told everyone yesterday: THERE IS NO OVERARCHING TREND.
I can't say "oh yeah, you're for sure not going to make it into the Top 10" or "YOU! YOU WILL WIN IDOL!"
The one thing I really pulled out of the sheet as I made it was that it really hinges on what you write-as it should. More often than not, the people that were voted out had an off-week and that's why we lost them. Your vote percentage can be dead-center, but have an off-week and you're gone. That's happened to at least one of the contestants that I included in the original iteration of the sheet.
I don't have an ordered list. The sheet itself is in alphabetical order, but that's for easy of picking out poll data. Otherwise? No. No order. For one thing, the really high standard deviations make it difficult to pin that down. I can't say, with absolute certainty, that someone will or will not be in the Top Ten. I can't say, with absolute certainty, who we're going to lose from week to week. Think about it: my
( ... )
Re: The Stat Sheet, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NumbersjexiaJanuary 20 2015, 23:53:53 UTC
I just wanted to say that I totally get where you are coming from. The numbers are fascinating unto themselves and it doesn't require any ulterior motive to make them so.
I've opted not to ask about my numbers, because I know it would probably make me a little miserable and obsessive, and I am (still) learning to walk away from my overly-competitive, perfectionist side.
P.S. Nerds unite.
P.P.S. Doing this in public comments, because I don't really buy into secret messages and emails and things buzzing around behind the scenes. That's probably my STEM-outcasty-nerdy side.
Re: The Stat Sheet, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NumberskickthehobbitJanuary 21 2015, 02:06:44 UTC
Yup-I totally get not wanting to know your numbers, and that's just fine. :)
I feel like not everyone's comfortable with having their ask or whatever out in the open, and I wanna make it available to anyone that wants to talk to me without having to do so in the Green Room. I'm generally friendly! Sometimes, like today, I wake up and my hips hurt and it's like, "GAH EVERYTHING SUCKS" and I'm a bit prickly, but in general I'd like to think I'm approachable. :)
Comments 121
eta - I'm in a weird "bitch about random things that are entirely unimportant" mood today.
I'm trying to keep it to myself. If you hear an explosion, you'll know what happened.
Reply
No kaboom. Have a cookie instead. *passes the cookies*
Reply
*takes all the cookies*
Reply
Reply
Hey, Gary, are you still keeping track of how many Things have been written for Idol, total and per season?
I have some small amount of sympathy for the parent who sent the bill - I bet organizing the birthday outing was expensive and maybe there were a lot of no-shows who didn't bother to call and say "hey, won't be able to make it..." but um... that sympathy only extends so far. Sending a bill home with a kid is a pretty snotty way of resolving that kind of problem. People. Yeesh.
Reply
19,817 entries have been created as a result of LJ Idol.
Reply
Reply
Reply
COKE OR PEPSI????
Reply
Reply
(psst, I'm not really a soda drinker)
Reply
Gingerale, also with rum.
Really, the answer is "rum." Or water.
Reply
::starts a chorus of kum ba ya::
Everybody sing!
Reply
Reply
Reply
(It's going to be very tricky for me this week - will have to get a piece done TONIGHT, while simultaneously planning and packing... and then I will have no way to keep an eye on polls etc.)
Reply
But why did you do it, or: Jenn Has No Life, and You Can Too!
I'm not sure how many people are aware of this, but I'm a graduate student in the sciences. I have a BS in Chemistry, and I minored in math in college. I like numbers. I really like doing statistical analysis-I find it super-interesting and think it's compelling. I think that data is beautiful and I like pulling out trends when I can.
I went ahead and made the spreadsheet that I did because I was curious as to whether or not there was an overall trend in how people had done in Idol-if there was a certain "cut-off point" where we could have predicted who was going to end up in the Top 50 or whatnot.
Originally I wondered if I could predict the Top Ten. I wanted to ride that out and see if it was the case.
Ultimately, though, I did it because I am a huge nerd and I ( ... )
Reply
Ultimately, I found out what I told everyone yesterday: THERE IS NO OVERARCHING TREND.
I can't say "oh yeah, you're for sure not going to make it into the Top 10" or "YOU! YOU WILL WIN IDOL!"
The one thing I really pulled out of the sheet as I made it was that it really hinges on what you write-as it should. More often than not, the people that were voted out had an off-week and that's why we lost them. Your vote percentage can be dead-center, but have an off-week and you're gone. That's happened to at least one of the contestants that I included in the original iteration of the sheet.
I don't have an ordered list. The sheet itself is in alphabetical order, but that's for easy of picking out poll data. Otherwise? No. No order. For one thing, the really high standard deviations make it difficult to pin that down. I can't say, with absolute certainty, that someone will or will not be in the Top Ten. I can't say, with absolute certainty, who we're going to lose from week to week. Think about it: my ( ... )
Reply
I've opted not to ask about my numbers, because I know it would probably make me a little miserable and obsessive, and I am (still) learning to walk away from my overly-competitive, perfectionist side.
P.S. Nerds unite.
P.P.S. Doing this in public comments, because I don't really buy into secret messages and emails and things buzzing around behind the scenes. That's probably my STEM-outcasty-nerdy side.
Reply
I feel like not everyone's comfortable with having their ask or whatever out in the open, and I wanna make it available to anyone that wants to talk to me without having to do so in the Green Room. I'm generally friendly! Sometimes, like today, I wake up and my hips hurt and it's like, "GAH EVERYTHING SUCKS" and I'm a bit prickly, but in general I'd like to think I'm approachable. :)
Reply
Leave a comment