Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The ASA was out of its mind to give Felix Salmon a reporting award

Is the American Statistical Association even vaguely familiar with the internet? Don't they understand how the blogosphere food chain works? One blogger says something mind-numbingly stupid which causes a wave of outraged and mocking posts in response which causes yet another wave of defences and accusations of hypocrisy.

Obviously the award should have gone to someone like Ben Stein (the phytoplankton of the blogosphere). Stein's writing is filled with the kind of nutrient-rich raw material that bloggers (including Salmon) can write about endlessly.

By comparison, bloggers trying to subsist on Salmon posts are usually left writing things like "Felix Salmon has an interesting analysis of..." or "Salmon makes an important point about..." or "Check out..."

On a related note:

Check out these very amusing posts by Felix Salmon: the first looks at the MBA-Tourette's that afflicts so many online editors; the second has fun with the aforementioned Ben Stein's claim the unemployed deserve to be out of work.

Salmon also has a devastating analysis of CNBC's muddled take on counterfeiting.

And while you're there, take a look at this post that makes an important point about the nomination of Elizabeth Warren for head of the CFPB.

Hell, just read the whole damned blog.

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