• Jesus@lemmy.worldOP
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      21 days ago

      Fuck Thiel and all, but Founders Fund invests in a slew of stuff that they think will make them money.

      Silver has always been fairly left of center. Anyone that’s listened to his podcasts over the past elections knows that, he wants his work to be neutral, but he’s not into the maga shit.

      Silver has always been curious to see if betting markets could more accurately predict election outcomes. I’m not surprised to see him join that company. It’s basically an opportunity for him to explore something he has been curious about for decades.

      But yeah, unfortunately, he’s also helping to make a shitty person richer.

      • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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        21 days ago

        RFK Jr used to be left of center, but then he got bought by the far right heir to the Mellon fortune.

        Silver may not be in the same place in his life, but it makes him deeply suspect, regardless of how “interests just aligned.”

        • Jesus@lemmy.worldOP
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          21 days ago

          Founders Fund has their dick in everything in the valley. They’ve invested in basically the entire title screen of HBO’s Silicon Valley.

          Fuck Thiel, but trying to associate Thiel’s politics with Silver’s Blog / Model is a big stretch.

          • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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            21 days ago

            But still, going from a “unbiased” pollster to a high-tech bookie is clearly a money grab. This article tells us very little, except “it’s a close horse race!” That sounds exactly like what a bookie would say to get more money on the match.

            His focus has changed. I wonder how Nate Silver himself would treat a formerly good pollster who recently started an online betting arm? I suspect he would downgrade their reliability due to conflict of interest.

            • Jesus@lemmy.worldOP
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              21 days ago

              To be fair, he blew up because he took statistical modeling frameworks that were used for sports and gambling, and he applied them to elections.

              He’s been using this language for years. He’s was a sport statistician and someone that made a living playing poker.

          • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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            21 days ago

            Thiel getting his money dick everywhere is not an accident. It’s one he can exercise control on his peers or underlings.

            Nate silver opted to join the above, so his opinions are now tainted by that association.

            They may be accurate, but they now require extra scrutiny.