As of today, Blender Underground’s poll results on future tutorials are not really surprising. Here’s what I see when I look at the poll this moment:

Total Voters: 71
Total Votes: 126
Votes Per Person: ~1.8 (3 votes were allowed)

• 63 votes: Just more Blender (50%)
• 31 votes: GIMP (24.6%)
• 5 votes: Photoshop (4.0%)
• 2 votes: Photoshop Elements (1.6%)
• 4 votes: Jahshaka (3.2%)
• 20 votes: Inkscape (15.9%)
• 1 vote: Other (0.8%)

Here are some observations, with as much objectivity as I can manage:

• Most visitors are primarily interested in Blender tutorials
• There is also high interest in GIMP
• There is reasonable interest in Inkscape
• There is not much interest in the other represented choices
• The given choices were very representative (only 1 “Other” vote)
• Many voters didn’t make all 3 choices available to them

The Politics of Statistics

I was casually debating with a beloved relative the other day, and statistics came up. When I refuted his interpretation of some stats, he asked, “Don’t you believe in statistics?” The answer to that gotcha question is, “Yes and No.”

I’m going to make up a statistic to illustrate a point:

Violent crime is 50% higher in poverty stricken regions of the U.S.

Here are two possible interpretations (among many) of that invented statistic:

• Poverty causes increases in crime rates regionally
• High crime rates increase poverty regionally

Now I’m not starting a debate about the causes of crime and/or poverty, so please don’t post statistics or commentary about what causes what; this is strictly to illustrate a point. I could choose to argue either point and cite the statistics to support my case, so which one is true? Possibly both, possibly neither. (How’s that for equivocation?)

The real answer is: the real answer is probably more complicated. Statistics are bandied about on a regular basis as authority for all sorts of political arguments. Statistics don’t lie, right? Arguments from authority are not uncommon, and you’ll hear appeals to authority in debates all of the time, from statistics to experts. After all, 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed recommend Trident gum.

More Tutorials

If you’re still reading–and I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t–let me give some different interpretations of the stats; and feel free to post your own:

1. Most voters are interested in Blender tutorials only. (I’m reasonably speculating that most voters who didn’t take 3 votes were voting for Blender.)
2. There is significant interest in tutorials for open source software.
3. Most visitors to the site are interested in open source software.
4. Blender Underground needs to produce more tutorials for Blender.
5. Blender Underground needs to produce more tutorials for open source software.
6. Blender Underground needs to attract a wider audience.

Our individual interpretations of these stats might depend on our own prejudices, needs, and wants. Let me throw out the most competing interpretations:

1. Current visitors prefer open source software tutorials, so it makes the most sense to produce them exclusively or in majority.
2. Current visitors are mostly of a particular interest, so to expand site viewership and widen interest in Blender, other tutorials should be produced.

Is there another, more pertinent interpretation besides these two? Are these interpretations mutually exclusive, or potentially complimentary? Maybe you would have opted for another choice: “Quit typing long, boring posts and get back to making Blender tutorials.” After rereading this gratuitous soliloquy, I think I like the alternative choice.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Polls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.