‘Psychology’ Archive

Gambling Thoughts

I’ll preface this by saying I’m not really breaking new ground here. 
Other day Louis was talking to me about the idea of creating a gambling program where someone could be exposed to an extrememly high number of past games with spread knowledge in a short amount of time to make them a better sport gambler.  [...]

Thursday Links

Lots of inspiration this week…
Follow-ups and excerpts from the Marvin Harrison story.
Jason Fagone also wrote an awesome story on Tim Tebow a few months back.
All these humanizing details tend to take the edge off the fact that Tebow’s entire role-model persona doesn’t work unless he can convey that, fundamentally, he’s better than you: stronger, more [...]

Chop Karma

So let’s all relive a recent situation I found myself in.  In my big pay league, there is a 100 dollar entry fee.  The prize breakdown is 400 given to the team that finishes first during the regular season, 100 given to the team that finishes second in the playoffs, and a cool half grand [...]

Thursday Links

It’s not every day that I get to start off a post talking about whale penis. Apparently, someone thinks it’s comfortable.
Some analysis of the unheralded Saints offensive line.
Brett Favre – Tecmo Bowl Hero
It turns out that yes, NBA players gamble during games. And some of them don’t want to pay up.
How The Roots [...]

2009 NFL Week 4 Early Leans

1-2 last week, would have been 2-2 or better had I listened to myself and those around me on New England and Detroit. That, friends is progress. First some news & notes around the league:
In the good coaching column:
Jim Schwartz – Detroit Lions
We’ve got to get to the point where a Week 3 [...]

Thursday Links

“We only get one chance at this, with no do-overs. Life is, in effect, a non-repeatable experiment with no control.” – Tim Kreider
The NFL and Nature
The NFL has become so fast and efficient that last season, teams each scored 22.03 points per game, the highest since 1967, while all the league’s 32 teams combined for [...]

Thursday Links

Roger Federer being “Artful and Efficient”
In a similar vein to the last post about overconfidence, what causes slumps?
Rarely, even in a slump, does a performer truly lose all the time; it just feels that way. By bringing attention to what the trader (read: athlete) is doing right, the focus shifts from one [...]

Overconfidence

Some relevant Sunday reading from Malcolm Gladwell.
Most people are inclined to use moral terms to describe overconfidence—terms like “arrogance” or “hubris.” But psychologists tend to regard overconfidence as a state as much as a trait. The British at Gallipoli were victims of a situation that promoted overconfidence. Langer didn’t say that it was [...]