See if this is only the logic of a computer geek, or if it makes some
kind of sense...
 
I have heard it said a lot that TCHCR has had a hard time this year
because the graph is not well connected.  This is obviously true, and
is just another way of saying that the NC$$ has screwed up the quality
of the sport, as usual....but I digress.
 
The interesting thing, here, is that I think this situation is actually
an *advantage* for TCHCR, because it has a better capability to follow
the few connections that are there.  A human being asked to respond to
a poll absolutely *must* have a strongly connected graph in their mind
in order to make a remotely reasonable judgement.  I guess what I'm saying
is that the human mind seems to need a lot of information to weigh any
decision, and when it doesn't have it, i.e. "when the graph is not well
connected", it has a tendency to overreact to whatever information it
*does* know about.  The fact that last year's TCHCR tracked the polls
and "reality" so well is that there was enough information for everyone
to make a sound judgement.  The mere fact that TCHCR does things that
are "unexpected" seems to me evidence that it might be seeing subtleties
that we don't.
 
I hope this doesn't sound too much like I'm saying "Obviously, computers
are superior to humans".  Just kind of thinking out loud.  And also offering
justification for the fact that, in seasons like these, I'll take TCHCR
over the NC$$ poll even though I am a Maine fan.
 
-dug
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