IQ Test Scores

IQ Test Score = 172

IQ Test Score = 140

IQ Test Score = 147

Top 4 Soccer Leagues

Top 4 Soccer Leagues

Spanish

• Real Madrid
• Barcelona Barca

English

• Manchester United
• Arsenal (London)
• Chelsea (London)
• Manchester City
• Liverpool

German

• Bayern Munich

Italian

• AC Milan
• Juventus (Turin)

Comparing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

People have been debating if Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal is the greatest tennis player of all time.

Some people think Federer is the best. But other people ask: If Federer is the best, and Nadal is better than Federer, would that make Nadal the best?

So, between Federer and Nadal, who is better?

I will use a method that I think is fair: to compare their head-to-head record during their prime.

I define Federer’s prime as the period from 2003 Wimbledon to 2010 Australian Open.

I define Nadal’s prime as the period from 2005 French Open to the time beyond Federer’s prime.

So, their primes overlap from 2005 French Open to 2010 Australian Open. Let’s look at their records during this period.

During this period, Federer and Nadal met 18 times.  The record is as follows:

	Federer	Nadal
Total	6	12
Clay	2	9
Grass	2	1
Hard Court	2	2

The conclusion: Nadal is better on clay. Federer is better on grass. They are even on hard court.

Other conclusions: Federer was more consistent on clay than Nadal was on grass and hard court. Federer reached more clay tournament finals than Nadal reached grass or hard court finals.

Other aspects:

Talent: Federer is more talented.

Mental strength: Nadal is mentally stronger.

Endurance during a match: They are equal.

Durability during a season: Federer was more durable in a season.

Scoring Systems in Sports and Politics

“Simpson’s Paradox” is a statistical quirk in that one side wins more points yet loses the contest.

1)   Basketball

There are 2 levels:

Points-->Game

Whoever wins most points wins the game.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is not possible.

2)   Soccer

There are 2 levels:

Points-->Game

Whoever wins most points wins the game.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is not possible.

3)   Volleyball

There are 3 levels:

Points-->Set-->Match

Whoever wins most points wins the set.

Whoever wins most sets wins the match.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is possible.

Example: A vs B: 25:0, 25:0, 23:25, 23:25, 13:15.

A got 103 points, B got 65 points, yet B won the match.

4)   Baseball

There are 2 levels:

Runs ->Game

Whoever wins most runs wins the game.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is not possible.

5)   American Football

There are 2 levels:

Points-->Game

Whoever wins most points wins the game.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is not possible.

6)   Tennis

There are 4 levels:

Points-->Game-->Set-->Match

Whoever wins most points wins the game.

Whoever wins most games wins the set.

Whoever wins most sets wins the match.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is possible.

Example: A vs B: 6:0, 4:6, 4:6.

A won 14 games, B won 12 games, yet B won the match.

7)   Badminton

There are 3 levels:

Points->Set->Match

Whoever wins most points wins the set.

Whoever wins most sets wins the match.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is possible.

Example: A vs B: 21:0, 19:21, 19:21.

A won 59 points, B won 42 points, yet B won the match.

8)   Ping pong

There are 3 levels:

Points->Set->Match

Whoever wins most points wins the set.

Whoever wins most sets wins the match.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is not possible.

Example: A vs B: 21:0, 19:21, 19:21.

A won 59 points, B won 42 points, yet B won the match.

9)   American Election

There are 3 levels:

Individual votes->Electoral College votes->Presidency

Whoever wins most Individual votes wins the Electoral College votes in the state.

Whoever wins most Electoral College votes wins the presidency.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is possible. 

Example: John vs Mike. Each of the 3 states has 100 million voters and 10 Electoral College votes.

	State A	State B	State C	Total
John # votes	100M	49M	49M	198M
John EC votes	10	0	0	10
Mike # votes	0M	51M	51M	102M
Mike EC votes	0	10	10	20

John won 198 million individual votes, Mike won 102 million individual votes, yet Mike won the presidency.

10)  French Election

There are 2 levels:

Individual votes->Presidency

Whoever wins most Individual votes wins the Presidency.

“Simpson’s Paradox” is not possible.

Chinese and Russian Movies

Many Chinese and Russian movies share some characteristics which I don't like.

Often, some characters are in a hysteric and half crazed state. They seem to be in a trance. Some performing artists may think that this is the highest stlevel of acting. Maybe so. But I, as an audience, feel tense and uncomfortable when I watch this kind of performance.

Furthermore, in some Chinese movies, many characters do some unreasonable and extraordinary things. For example, in Feng Xiaogang's movie "1942", a refugee fleeing from famine refuses to trade a toy for food, and risks death by cursing a Japanese soldier when he burned the toy. Maybe the director or the script writer think only unreasonable and extraordinary actions are worthy to be in a movie. Maybe their thinking is "Who would go to a movie theater to see reasonable and mundane stuff?" I don't know why, but in all the movies that I like, all characters behaved reasonably. Even in Feng Xiaogang's own movie "If You Are The One" , all characters behaved reasonably, and it is a much better movie than "1942".

Many Chinese and Russian movies have a half-witted character. They always say some stupid things to let the protagonist correct them and make the audience feel the protagonist is extra smart. But in real life, it is really hard to find such half-witted person.

Further more, some Chinese and Hong Kong movies have a funny character who often makes funny facial expressions. This is often not very funny. I like comedies in which the thinking and actions are funny, not the facial expressions. For example, George Costanza.