For the fourth and last marking period of this dreaded yet rewarding junior year, I have decided to ready Moneyball by Michael Lewis for many of the same reasons that I chose to read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell back in September. For example, in both cases, emotion and tradition are disregarded and replaced with facts and statistics, numbers and concrete evidence. Then follows the careful analysis of these numbers to discover trends and make conclusions in Outliers case, and take it one step further in Moneyball to create the best team possible with the lowest budget. Again, I am also personally fascinated with statistics and predictions, as they affect much of how we live our lives day-to-day, as well as big picture. University X has an acceptance rate of 9.67%. The odds of being struck by lightning are one in 3,000. Tomorrow there will be a 50% chance of rain (thanks). Statistics determine aspects of our lives as minor as whether or not to bring an umbrella to work based on a weather report, to deciding what college to go to based on a variety of factors. And as our society further develops and evolves, statistics and trends taken from said statistics will only become more and more important.
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