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Is Rasmussen invoking the Oliver Woofing Theorem?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by NewRoxFan, Feb 21, 2014.

  1. NewRoxFan

    NewRoxFan Member

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  2. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    I'm not a stats geek, so what's the Oliver Woofing Theorem?
     
  3. Kimble14

    Kimble14 Member

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    It's not stats -- it's rec.sports.football.college, which is Usenet, which is old, old, incredibly-old school. From a website last updated in 1999: <blockquote>Oliver's Woofing Theorem states, in a nutshell, that in any given athletic competition (team, individual, amatuer, professional), the team/player who is the most over-hyped/over-praised by his/her/its fans/supporters is doomed to LOSE the competition. For example, if immediately preceding a game between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, two Blue Jay's fans state that "Toronto will kick ass", while only one Seattle fan makes a similar claim, then Seattle is guaranteed a win by the ubiquitious and omnipresent Gods of Woofing.</blockquote> I guess that sorta fits, but "scaremongering" feels more accurate to me. (In actuality, Rasmussen probably just got a weird sample of likely voters last week.) FWIW, here are the recent results from other pollsters, via Real Clear Politics:

    Pollster: Pos/Neg/Difference
    Gallup: 45/50/-5
    Economist/YouGov: 42/56/-14
    FOX News: 42/53/-11
    McClatchy/Marist: 42/52/-10
     
  4. NewRoxFan

    NewRoxFan Member

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    Nice job kimble, but I got it from a different Usenet group (rec.sports.basketball.pro). Those were the days. And you are right, it only sorta fits. I agree its more likely riling up the base. In years past he would always have a very GOP favorable survey results that were always an outlier. These are outliers, but at the other extreme. I do think Obama's numbers have risen since December.
     
  5. Commodore

    Commodore Member

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    Scott Rasmussen no longer works for Rasmussen
     
  6. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    If cashed out his name, I tip my hat to him since he presumably won the game of capitalism.

    But if he wants his name and rep back.... **** you, pay me.

    That's how it works, right?
     
  7. Commodore

    Commodore Member

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    I think he was essentially fired by the company
     

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