No, I am not talking about the various combinations of letters and numbers that are so common in today's binary world. Rather, I am referring to the attempted translation of mathematical concepts into plain English. For example, during the Packers-Eagles game going on right now, the Packers fumbled and then recovered the fumble for a first down. Troy Aikman was relating the fact that the Packers had a +10 turnover margin--that is, they have recovered more fumbles and made more interceptions (10 more, actually) than they were guilty of committing. He then went on to say that their ratio was one of the best in the league.
Hold on a second, Troy. Margin and ratio are two completely different things. Let's look at the two and see why. If you have 20 takeaways and 10 giveaways, you have a +1o margin and a 2:1 ratio. However, if you have 40 takeaways and 30 giveaways, you still have a +10 margin, but your ratio has been reduced to 3:2, or 1.5:1. What you meant to say, sir, is that they margin is one of the best in the league; we have no idea if their ratio is unless you tell us the hard numbers behind it.
It's all in how you slice it.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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