Shakespeare's plays often turn on the idea of fate, as much drama does. What makes them so tragic is the gap between what his characters might like to accomplish and what fate provides them. — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
Expert estimates of probability are often off by factors of hundreds or thousands. [...] I used to be annoyed when the margin of error was high in a forecasting model that I might put together. Now I view it as… — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent… — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
Not only does political coverage often lose the signal—it frequently accentuates the noise. — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
“These partisan beliefs can upset the equation in which more information will bring us closer to the truth. A recent study in Nature found… — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
The public is even more pessimistic about the economy than even the most bearish economists are. — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
“But forecasters often resist considering these out-of-sample problems. When we expand our sample to include events further apart from us in time and space,… — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
In politics people build whole reputations off of getting one thing right. — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
Well, you know, you're not going to have 86 percent of Congress voted out of office. — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
The quest for certainty in forecasting outcomes can be the enemy of progress. — Nate Silver Copy Share Image
To be a very, very minor, eighth-tier celebrity, you realize, 'Hey, celebrities are just like us.' — Nate Silver Copy Share Image