The Power of Statistics, Computing Power and Data

Nate Silver, our stats geek hero for his freakishly accurate calling of the 2008 election, has turned his superpowers on this Sunday's Oscars. His picks:

Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger......................85.8%
Supporting Actress
Taraji P. Henson.................51.0%
Lead Actor
Mickey Rourke...................71.1%
Lead Actress
Kate Winslet.......................67.6%
Best Director
Danny Boyle,
Slumdog Millionaire...........99.7%
Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire..........99.0%

I completely agree with these predictions, except for Supporting Actress. My prediction would be: Penelope Cruz.

Nate Silvers analysis exemplifies the power of data and computing statistics. It makes the human mind appear inferior.

And lastly, even though I generally keep up with the Oscar race. I never watch a minute of the ceremony. It's always incredible boring and a complete waste of time.