I Tweeted about this yesterday, but in case you missed it, Steve Pond has painstakingly revealed the craziness of Oscar’s math once more, but this time, with added detail and some new bits that will either clear things up for you or make them much, much more confusing.
I know which of those camps I’m in.
Anyway, here’s a taste, just to get you started. But go to The Odds to get the full fuzzy picture:
The math is simple: You take the number of nominations up for grabs, add one, and use the resulting number to divide the number of votes. Then you add one, or any fraction of one.
For instance, if you have 5,500 Best Picture ballots and you’re looking for 10 nominees, you divide 5,500 by 11, giving you a magic number of 500. Now, it’s theoretically possible that 11 different films could each receive 500 votes – but if you add one (or any fraction, if that magic number isn’t a whole number), you’ll get the number that will automatically put you in the top 10, and thus guarantee you a nomination.
Comments
7 responses to “The math”
this reads like the rules of WhackBat from “Fantastic Mr. Fox”.
I could’ve sworn that I saw a video somewhere (but from YouTube) that described how this way of voting works, and it made it so much clearer than a written explanation ever could.. I’ve tried looking for it but I haven’t been able to find it.
What’s more complicated: These rules or the rules for Calvinball? ;)
I understand how it works. However, the surplus rule is really weird.
This is why I hate math… haha
Is that all?? because if the “500+1” thing works is really simple xD
ooh, Calvinball! the greatest fictional sport ever!!!
Aside from the surplus rule, which I don’t TOTALLY get, the rest of it isn’t terribly difficult to comprehend. Whether it’s a good idea or not is anyone’s guess. I mean, it all depends on how strategically people use their votes. Is it possible to throw in something not likely to make The Ten as your number one to give more votes to your number 2? Or maybe not, maybe I’m crazy. Either way, point is, it’s an odd choice for a voting system, but not one that’s impossible to grasp. Math isn’t that hard, people.