Tag Archives: Safe mode

Revision: Analysis of SciCast Safe Mode Usage

The post Analysis of SciCast Safe Mode Usage has been revised slightly to use a power law (x^k) instead of a logarithmic function (k ln x). This is because the logarithmic function could go negative, which the percentage of trades cannot do. Revisions are in red.

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%SafeMode Trades vs #Trades,

Analysis of SciCast Safe Mode Usage

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by Kellen Leister

Note: The following post has been revised slightly to use a power law (x^k) instead of a logarithmic function (k ln x). This is because the logarithmic function could go negative, which we know the percentage of trades cannot do. Revisions are in red.

Given the ease of switching back and forth between Safe Mode and Power Mode, we were interested to observe the relative use of each mode.  (For a description of the different modes, see the Appendix.) Continue reading →

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Why did my forecast do that?

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Forecasters frequently want to know why their forecast had so much (or so little) effect. For example, Topic Leader jessiet recently asked:

I made a prediction just now of 10% and the new probability came down to 10%. That seems weird- that my one vote would count more than all past predictions? I assume it’s not related to the fact that I was the question author?

The quick answer is that she used Power mode, which is our market interface, and that’s how markets work: your estimate becomes the new consensus.  Sound crazy? Note that markets beat out most other methods for the past three years of live geopolitical forecasting on the IARPA ACE competition. For two years, we ran one of those markets, before we switched to Science & Technology.  So how can this possibly work?  Read on for (a) How it works, (b) Why you should start with Safe mode, (c) The scoring rule underneath, and (d) An actual example.

Continue reading →

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