Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#1

Post by moizsyed » Tue, May 06, 2014, 3:30 PM UTC

Show HN: How Wrong You Are
howwrongyouare.org

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#2

Post by jug6ernaut » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:20 PM UTC

My only issue with this is it needs more questions. Besides that love the idea/application/implementation.

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#3

Post by kasey_junk » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:23 PM UTC

Some of the answers to these questions are highly subjective, leading them to not be great examples of how wrong someone is.

For instance, the % of budget spent on defence by the US question only includes (I assume) the DoD discretionary budget and the Overseas Contingency Budget. It leaves out the VA, the State Dept. Homeland Security, the Justice Dept. , the National Intelligence Program, and the NSF, all of which have defence components.

So in that case it's not so much that someone is wrong if they pick the incorrect answer, it's just that the definition of defence spending is nuanced.

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#4

Post by moizsyed » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:25 PM UTC

jug6ernaut wrote: post #2

My only issue with this is it needs more questions. Besides that love the idea/application/implementation.

Thanks! We will be adding more questions soon. Researching and formulating good questions is somewhat of a slow process. We're thinking of either posting 1 question everyday or posting a batch of them every week. We're going to try both approaches to see what works.

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#5

Post by moizsyed » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:28 PM UTC

kasey_junk wrote: post #3

Some of the answers to these questions are highly subjective, leading them to not be great examples of how wrong someone is. For instance, the % of budget spent on defence by the US question only includes (I assume) the DoD discretionary budget and the Overseas Contingency Budget. It leaves out the VA, the State Dept. Homeland Security, the Justice Dept. , the National Intelligence Program, and the NSF, all of which…

I agree. The defense spending question is a tricky one. The goal though is not to be right or wrong but to encourage people to think about these things.

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#6

Post by jqm » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:36 PM UTC

kasey_junk wrote: post #3

Some of the answers to these questions are highly subjective, leading them to not be great examples of how wrong someone is. For instance, the % of budget spent on defence by the US question only includes (I assume) the DoD discretionary budget and the Overseas Contingency Budget. It leaves out the VA, the State Dept. Homeland Security, the Justice Dept. , the National Intelligence Program, and the NSF, all of which…

Indeed.

Sites other than Wikipedia show different numbers as well. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#7

Post by robotresearcher » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:39 PM UTC

moizsyed wrote: post #4

jug6ernaut wrote: post #2

My only issue with this is it needs more questions. Besides that love the idea/application/implementation.

Thanks! We will be adding more questions soon. Researching and formulating good questions is somewhat of a slow process. We're thinking of either posting 1 question everyday or posting a batch of them every week. We're going to try both approaches to see what works.

"How many animal species are headed for extinction?"

The correct answer is almost certainly 100%, but this is not even available as an option. Without any time horizon specified, any value less than 100% is not really meaningful.

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#8

Post by moizsyed » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:53 PM UTC

jqm wrote: post #6

kasey_junk wrote: post #3

Some of the answers to these questions are highly subjective, leading them to not be great examples of how wrong someone is. For instance, the % of budget spent on defence by the US question only includes (I assume) the DoD discretionary budget and the Overseas Contingency Budget. It leaves out the VA, the State Dept. Homeland Security, the Justice Dept. , the National Intelligence Program, and the NSF, all of which…

Indeed. Sites other than Wikipedia show different numbers as well. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258

Oh thats a good resource! Thanks

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#9

Post by jqm » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:56 PM UTC

moizsyed wrote: post #8

jqm wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Sites other than Wikipedia show different numbers as well. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258

Oh thats a good resource! Thanks

for the record I went through all the questions and it is a fun site.

nice work.

Re: Show HN: How Wrong You Are

#10

Post by moizsyed » Tue, May 06, 2014, 4:57 PM UTC

robotresearcher wrote: post #7

moizsyed wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! We will be adding more questions soon. Researching and formulating good questions is somewhat of a slow process. We're thinking of either posting 1 question everyday or posting a batch of them every week. We're going to try both approaches to see what works.

"How many animal species are headed for extinction?" The correct answer is almost certainly 100%, but this is not even available as an option. Without any time horizon specified, any value less than 100% is not really meaningful.

Sorry, that was a typo. Fixed it!

Thanks for pointing it out.