- Oct 9, 1999
- 46,863
- 10,647
- 147
In an excerpt of his new book, On the Edge*, the statistician explains why “Riverians”—with their penchant for data, free speech, and unfettered capitalism—are steeped in a political power struggle against the Democratic-aligned “Village” elites.
*Vanity Fair link which you may or may not be able to access. If you can read it, do so, I found it fucking fascinating. If you can't read it by following the link, you may still be able to read it by going to Vanity Fair and searching the article. I believe they give you 3 free articles per month. If you still can't read it, post that here and I'll contact the OO here (a close personal friend and a prince among men) and have him lock the thread.
Nate Silver speaks:
"I played poker professionally before I ever wrote a word about politics or built an election model. I still feel more at home in a casino than at a political convention. I have the numbers of dozens of top poker players in my contacts list—but few people who work in politics or government."
[...]
"I’ve spent most of the past three years immersed in a world that I call The River. The River is a sprawling ecosystem of like-minded people that includes everyone from low-stakes poker pros just trying to grind out a living to crypto kings and venture-capital billionaires. It is a way of thinking and a mode of life. People don’t know very much about the River, but they should. Most Riverians aren’t rich and powerful. But rich and powerful people are disproportionately likely to be Riverians compared to the rest of the population. Given everything has taken place over the last six years—poker cheating scandals; Elon Musk’s transformation from rocket-launching renegade into ‘X’ edgelord; the spectacular self-induced implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried—you’d think The River had a rough few years. But guess what: The River is winning. Silicon Valley and Wall Street are still accumulating more and more wealth. Las Vegas is taking in more and more money. In a world forged not by the toil of human hands but by the computations of machines, those of us who understand the algorithms hold the trump cards."
*Vanity Fair link which you may or may not be able to access. If you can read it, do so, I found it fucking fascinating. If you can't read it by following the link, you may still be able to read it by going to Vanity Fair and searching the article. I believe they give you 3 free articles per month. If you still can't read it, post that here and I'll contact the OO here (a close personal friend and a prince among men) and have him lock the thread.
Nate Silver speaks:
"I played poker professionally before I ever wrote a word about politics or built an election model. I still feel more at home in a casino than at a political convention. I have the numbers of dozens of top poker players in my contacts list—but few people who work in politics or government."
[...]
"I’ve spent most of the past three years immersed in a world that I call The River. The River is a sprawling ecosystem of like-minded people that includes everyone from low-stakes poker pros just trying to grind out a living to crypto kings and venture-capital billionaires. It is a way of thinking and a mode of life. People don’t know very much about the River, but they should. Most Riverians aren’t rich and powerful. But rich and powerful people are disproportionately likely to be Riverians compared to the rest of the population. Given everything has taken place over the last six years—poker cheating scandals; Elon Musk’s transformation from rocket-launching renegade into ‘X’ edgelord; the spectacular self-induced implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried—you’d think The River had a rough few years. But guess what: The River is winning. Silicon Valley and Wall Street are still accumulating more and more wealth. Las Vegas is taking in more and more money. In a world forged not by the toil of human hands but by the computations of machines, those of us who understand the algorithms hold the trump cards."
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