Pudpop wrote:theHotHead wrote:Pudpop, I was one of the people that praised Iwobi's early season form, I said I was willing to see how far Emery could improve him. I am therefore not biased.
Mate,
everyone is biased. Humans are not capable of rationally analysing what we experience. The fact that we are
not rational actors is one of the founding principles of behavioural studies. This is why one of the most important functions of statistics is
removing bias from analysis and it's why I try to make a point of using statistics properly on this site.
At the end of the day, when statistics are used properly they give you
objective truths*. The important part isn't trying to be as objective as possible, but being able to find out which objective statistics clearly refute what you are saying. This happened with me earlier when I replied to the statistics saying we are not a strong set piece team. Personally I felt that our set pieces are nothing to worrying about (offensively) but the statistics clearly showed my bias. This has happened to me multiple times while trying to defend Ozil on this board. It should happen to everyone.
Your response to a statistic that refutes what you are saying should never be 'that statistic means nothing'. Statistics
always mean something*. When you see a statistic that you disagree with, your first step should be to question it. Always question it. Then question the statement made about the statistic. If you do this you can explain why you think you're right despite the statistic, but you cannot wholly disregard them because you disagree with it.
*I added these 2 stars because those statements might seem controversial to people who are skeptical about stats. The thing is, the statements shouldn't be controversial but they are because of how some people
misrepresent stats. You have to remember that outside of academic use of statistics there is often a disconnect between the data and the inference done on the data. In other words, people will gather data and use that data to make a statement (Arsenal is not an elite team, Iwobi is as good as De Bruyne, Ozil is our most important player), but often these statements don't follow from the data. The reason why I say statistics give you
objective truths is because they are objectively gathered and created, but the statements we then make afterwards tend to lose that objectivity. I also say that statistics always mean something, but that doesn't mean that the statement someone gives is exactly what that stat means. This is why you'll see me make statements like 'Iwobi's chance creation is
comparable to De Bruyne's' instead of saying 'Iwobi is as good as De Bruyne'. When people start trying to make big statements like the ones I listed above, they inevitably contain opinion and therefore bias. When you make smaller statements it is easier to find statistics that comprehensively back it up.