For Good Reason

The Science of Fantasy Sports

AJ Mass

D.J. Grothe sits down with ESPN.com’s fantasy sports analyst AJ Mass to discuss how fantasy sports relate to science and skepticism. Success in fantasy sports is about predicting the future, and Mass explains how he learned how to gather useful information and avoid the same kinds of misunderstandings of science and human nature that cause people to find patterns where none exist. He also talks about the methods of Sylvia Brown and other celebrity psychics, and why he was so convinced he had psychic powers himself at an early age. He also explores the role of pareidolia in sports and other areas of life, and how he is held to a different standard than those who predict the future using purported supernatural means.

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