--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can build a statistical model and…" description: "\"You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new ty..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg" --- # You can build a statistical model and that's all well and… ![“You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new type of situation - then the choices you're making are pretty arbitrary in a lot of respects.” quote by Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg) > “You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new type of situation - then the choices you're making are pretty arbitrary in a lot of respects.” [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Statistical models help, but new financial instruments lack historical data, making model choices arbitrary. **In simple terms:** Models are limited for novel financial products. Key Takeaway Seek additional data and expert judgment. Themes finance modeling uncertainty innovation Mood analytical cautious Type financial technical When to use this quote - new derivatives - unprecedented markets - regulatory changes Key Concepts risk assessment model risk Questions to Reflect On - How do you validate models for novel assets? - What non‑quantitative inputs can improve decisions? A Different Perspective Overreliance on models can cause blind spots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of my movies were completely destroyed by the censors, who can be pretty arbitrary. 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Making a decision that might sound selfish does not make a woman a bad mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/good-mothers-make-all-kinds-of-choices-making-a-decision-that-might/) [Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/) > [Every choice you make as an actor ends up being really influential on your life, because you're spending a lot of time working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cera/every-choice-you-make-as-an-actor-ends-up-being-really-influential-on/) [Michael Cera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cera/) > [“Life is a chain of choices. Making the correct one is never easy.” “That’s for sure,” agreed Rocky. “But if we didn’t make difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-mueller-coombs/life-is-a-chain-of-choices-making-the-correct-one-is-never-easy-that/) Karen Mueller Coombs > [“Reverse your way of thinking and examine what’s going on in your thoughts. 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The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [Not only does political coverage often lose the signal—it frequently accentuates the noise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/not-only-does-political-coverage-often-lose-the-signal-it-frequently/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [“These partisan beliefs can upset the equation in which more information will bring us closer to the truth. A recent study in Nature found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/these-partisan-beliefs-can-upset-the-equation-in-which-more/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [I have the same friends and the same bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/i-have-the-same-friends-and-the-same-bad-habits/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [I think a lot of journal articles should really be blogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/i-think-a-lot-of-journal-articles-should-really-be-blogs/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [The public is even more pessimistic about the economy than even the most bearish economists are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/the-public-is-even-more-pessimistic-about-the-economy-than-even-the/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [I don't think you should limit what you read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/i-don-t-think-you-should-limit-what-you-read/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/but-forecasters-often-resist-considering-these-out-of-sample-problems/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [In politics people build whole reputations off of getting one thing right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/in-politics-people-build-whole-reputations-off-of-getting-one-thing/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [Well, you know, you're not going to have 86 percent of Congress voted out of office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/well-you-know-you-re-not-going-to-have-86-percent-of-congress-voted/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [The quest for certainty in forecasting outcomes can be the enemy of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/the-quest-for-certainty-in-forecasting-outcomes-can-be-the-enemy-of/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [To be a very, very minor, eighth-tier celebrity, you realize, 'Hey, celebrities are just like us.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/to-be-a-very-very-minor-eighth-tier-celebrity-you-realize-hey/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [“Most of you will have heard the maxim "correlation does not imply causation." Just because two variables have a statistical relationship with each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/most-of-you-will-have-heard-the-maxim-correlation-does-not-imply/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [Actually, one of the better indicators historically of how well the stock market will do is just a Gallup poll, when you ask Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/actually-one-of-the-better-indicators-historically-of-how-well-the/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [You get steely nerves playing poker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/you-get-steely-nerves-playing-poker/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) [Explore all 138 Nate Silver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) ## More Arbitrary quotes > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. 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The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Not to be offensive, not to be capricious, not to be arbitrary, not to be neurotic, not to be an actor outer, you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/not-to-be-offensive-not-to-be-capricious-not-to-be-arbitrary-not-to/) [William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/) > [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Habit is altogether too arbitrary a master for me to submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/habit-is-altogether-too-arbitrary-a-master-for-me-to-submit-to/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/contrary-to-what-certain-governments-say-human-rights-are-universal/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [“nothing is arbitrary in this whole world, there is a good reason behind each and everything…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-kumar/nothing-is-arbitrary-in-this-whole-world-there-is-a-good-reason/) Nikhil Kumar > [Fundamentally, adopting rules without any estimate of the impact is the height of arbitrary decision-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-o-rielly/fundamentally-adopting-rules-without-any-estimate-of-the-impact-is/) [Michael O'Rielly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-o-rielly/) > [No arbitrary regulation, no act of the legislature, can add anything to the capital of the country; it can only force it into artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ramsay-mcculloch/no-arbitrary-regulation-no-act-of-the-legislature-can-add-anything-to/) John Ramsay McCulloch > [But the desire of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping the burthens, of political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible source of discord; nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/but-the-desire-of-obtaining-the-advantages-and-of-escaping-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) Browse all 529 Arbitrary quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new type of situation - then the choices you're making are pretty arbitrary in a lot of respects.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nate Silver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-that-s-all-well-and-good-but-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arbitrary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-that-s-all-well-and-good-but-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/nate-silver-3166_arbitrary_you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-th_1002127.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of…” — Nate Silver", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nate Silver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can build a statistical model...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-that-s-all-well-and-good-but-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/you-can-build-a-statistical-model-and-that-s-all-well-and-good-but-if/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```