Sun Tzu on Analytics

Apparently he was a fan:

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Sun Tzu, he was the ancient Chinese general and philosopher who wrote The Art of War. Still required reading around military academies and war colleges around the world to this day, The Art of War is perhaps the most influential military treatise in history. It crystallizes centuries of strategic wisdom into what are essentially tweet-sized chunks of timeless insight. Thus do many calculations lead to victory...I like that part. I think I'm gonna' put it on a t-shirt.

  • Spread The Love
  • Digg This Post
  • Tweet This Post
  • Stumble This Post
  • Submit This Post To Delicious
  • Submit This Post To Reddit
  • Submit This Post To Mixx

6 Responses to “Sun Tzu on Analytics”

  1. Luther says:

    yeah but bob ryan says it's nonsense and he has his own blog. sun tzu wasn't even a sports writer....

  2. Anonymous says:

    Pure gold.

  3. Anonymous says:

    No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy

  4. Anonymous says:

    Battle Plan > No Battle Plan.
    But I suspect General Matt Millen could prove that false.

  5. Anonymous says:

    I think these wise words are best interpreted as the coach who has studied the most, game planned the best, and prepared his "soldiers" the best, is best fit to win. It certainly would help to explain an upset when the assumed "better team" loses... i.e. the team with the most talent. Russell Wilson says it all the time: the separation is in the preparation.

  6. Coach Hindsight says:

    I LOVE the science and math of stats in sports.

    Andy aka Coach Hindsight
    www.CoachHindsight.com

Leave a Reply

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.