Reading :: Moneyball

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
By Michael Lewis

Yes, I finally got around to reading Moneyball. It's a good story, compellingly told, and Michael Lewis does a good job of talking through the basics of what statistical analysis brought to baseball recruiting and how it disrupted pro ball.

That aspect, I think, is what made this book required reading in UT's MS in Technology Commercialization — which in turn is why I read the book in the first place.

On the other hand, I confess that I didn't feel much more informed after reading the book. I mean, I understand baseball a little better, but my real goal was to better understand statistical analysis and how it might apply to problem solving in domains traditionally dominated by lore. Moneyball gave me an extended example, but at such a level of generalization that I would have a hard time applying it elsewhere.

Still, it's a great read, and I recommend it.