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DPChallenge Forums >> Challenge Results >> Scores rising/falling over voting period
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07/30/2003 09:51:53 AM · #1
Bear with me on this one.. Hopefully what I'm thinking will make sense..

I reckon that over the week's voting photos above the average score (around 5.0) have a natural tendency to fall, whereas photos below have a tendency to rise. Why is this?

Mr Joe Average's photo gets a score of 5.000.

If we're following a normal distribution, 95% of Joe's scores will fall within 2 standard deviations. From my brief fiddling with my own scores, I get my standard deviation for the Country Life challenge to be 1.6. So, 95% of Joe's scores fall within 1.8 ( 5 - [2*1.6] ) and 8.2 ( 5 - [2*1.6] ).

Now, how about Laura Expert's photo? What if her photo was destined for a stunning 8.000?

For our normal distribution we'll consider the two people at the very edge of that 95% of scores. An unimpressed person will give Laura a 4.8 ( 8 - [2*1.6] ). However, an impressed person can't give Laura the statistical maximum they would like to, of 11.2 ( 8 + [2*1.6] ). They can only give the person a 10.

This means it takes more impressed people to counteract unimpressed people, which following a normal distribution, can't happen.

Hence, high scores should always fall because there's more scope to rate them lower, which can't be counteracted vote-per-vote. Low scores will always rise because there's more scope to rate them higher, which also can't be counteracted.

Interestingly, this would agree somewhat the minimum score often being around 3.0, and the maximum often being around 7.0.

Before the inevitable torrent - obviously there are challenges that disagree with this obversation. :-)

Does that make any sense whatsoever?
07/30/2003 09:57:55 AM · #2
My teacher said I'd use this math someday . . .
07/30/2003 10:02:55 AM · #3
Originally posted by dsidwell:

My teacher said I'd use this math someday . . .

Everything taught in school has some fundamental use for DPC. :-)
07/30/2003 10:03:00 AM · #4
yes it makes sense to me :)
simple mathematics huh? :D
and you shouldnt forget the "human-factor", giving for a very nice shot just a 1 or 2 because of being jealous of the photographer's skills,etc.
07/30/2003 10:03:35 AM · #5
I don't know about it making sense, but it does seem to mirror what I've seen - on the one or two occasions when I've had a photo start with a high score (7+) it has tailed off over the week.

Having said that, though, I've never had a photo finish up too far adrift (in either direction) from where it started off.
07/30/2003 10:04:56 AM · #6
Originally posted by bosie:

and you shouldnt forget the "human-factor", giving for a very nice shot just a 1 or 2 because of being jealous of the photographer's skills,etc.

One way or another, I need some reason to justify my drop of 0.78. :-(
07/30/2003 10:19:13 AM · #7
hehe bad image? bad photographer? j/k :)
07/30/2003 10:25:14 AM · #8
Originally posted by bosie:

hehe bad image? bad photographer? j/k :)

That justifies a poor score, not a large drop. :-)
07/30/2003 11:13:03 AM · #9
I know that I have received 2 10s, my only 2 commenters gave me 10's, (I will thank you later)But since then, I have dropped a full point. There are a lot of jokers out there who think it's funny to give 1's all around, in the end, those votes are deleted. I always enjoy seeing my score rise after the voting ends.:)
07/30/2003 12:01:44 PM · #10
All logic and statistics aside, I think someday I will submit a photo that everyone on earth will see and be persuaded...no...COMPELLED to vote a 10. There will be no standard deviations. The mean and median will both be ten.

It's that perfect moment when all degrees of freedom are removed, and all you see is perfection.
For a golfer, the result is a hole in one. For a baseball player it's the full-count, bases-loaded, bottom-of-the-ninth, two-men-out Grand Slam home run. For a Diver it's a 4.0 DOD rip-entry dive.

For people whose brains are built like mine, it's the belief in this Dharmic perfection that keeps us coming back. I'll likely never reach it, but the belief that it's attainable is a lifetime of fuel.

And I think it'd be really cool to get all 10s. Yowza.

Pedro

Message edited by author 2003-07-30 16:01:21.
07/30/2003 12:13:44 PM · #11
tis the fuel that drives us pedro. I'll be lucky to stay in the 4's with this garden entry. :)
07/30/2003 12:19:02 PM · #12
Originally posted by grigrigirl:

tis the fuel that drives us pedro. I'll be lucky to stay in the 4's with this garden entry. :)


If you're in the 4's then yours cannot be the one I thought was yours.

-Terry
07/30/2003 12:22:23 PM · #13
Oh...it probly is.
07/30/2003 04:02:17 PM · #14
Originally posted by grigrigirl:

tis the fuel that drives us pedro. I'll be lucky to stay in the 4's with this garden entry. :)


Guess you'll have to wait until next competition to get all 10s then. Of course once you GET all the 10s...then what?

Golf, I guess.
07/30/2003 04:55:13 PM · #15
So far, in three submissions, I don't see much change in my scores. I started out with about 4.18 in Contrast and ended up at 4.2. I started with 3.4 in Fill The Frame and after 100 votes have 3.6. I started with 4.4 in In The Garden and after 74 votes have 4.2.

So far people pretty much think my photography stinks! Now I just have to figure out how to make it better. :)
07/30/2003 05:34:29 PM · #16
Originally posted by fayepek:

So far, in three submissions, I don't see much change in my scores. I started out with about 4.18 in Contrast and ended up at 4.2. I started with 3.4 in Fill The Frame and after 100 votes have 3.6. I started with 4.4 in In The Garden and after 74 votes have 4.2.

So far people pretty much think my photography stinks! Now I just have to figure out how to make it better. :)


Based on the comments you received on your 'Contrasts' entry I would say that people like your ideas and are offering suggestions on what to try the next time. Just keep at it.

Also, did you try the 'Contrast' shoot again with some of the suggestions to see the difference?
07/30/2003 05:45:19 PM · #17
For this week's shot, my score has dropped a record (for me) two full points from where it "started". I have several comments, and all are very positive (with 9s and 10s attached), so some folks are giving really low scores, which leads me to believe that in some eyes, it is either not gardeny enough, or leaves count as flowers.
07/30/2003 05:53:12 PM · #18
Me too David, only I've gone abstract and it's costing! Well, that's it now I give up and I'm quitting DPC. ;)

Here's something for you Pedro:
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=25710
07/30/2003 06:28:19 PM · #19
[quote=cpanaiot
Based on the comments you received on your 'Contrasts' entry I would say that people like your ideas and are offering suggestions on what to try the next time. Just keep at it.

Also, did you try the 'Contrast' shoot again with some of the suggestions to see the difference?[/quote]

Yes, I got some excellent feedback on the photo. I was so green I didn't know the subject shouldn't be centered, that shadows in that type picture weren't good and that all that negative space was bad. I didn't set that particular shoot again but have done a few with that same type set up using the suggestions I got and they are much better.

I don't expect to score well, at least for awhile. I'm just thankful for the good advice.
07/30/2003 06:46:39 PM · #20
Originally posted by Jon Lucas:

Me too David, only I've gone abstract and it's costing! Well, that's it now I give up and I'm quitting DPC. ;)

Here's something for you Pedro:

//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=25710


How'd ya know Dali is my favorite?

Good smile to end my workday - thanks Jon
07/30/2003 07:15:47 PM · #21
Out of 5 comments the first 2 are tens with good reasons why. When I first checked my score it was barely above half that with 30 votes. Pretty poor. Everyone here at my work love my photo and would give it between 9 and 10. I honestly can't believe my score at the moment. I would certainly like some comments as to why. After 100 votes I only have 5 comments.

I guess after starting on such a high with round I could only go down.

EDIT: Dali is my fav too.

Message edited by author 2003-07-30 19:16:59.
07/30/2003 07:17:53 PM · #22
at least you have comments
07/30/2003 07:52:26 PM · #23
Originally posted by joanns:

I know that I have received 2 10s, my only 2 commenters gave me 10's, (I will thank you later)But since then, I have dropped a full point. There are a lot of jokers out there who think it's funny to give 1's all around, in the end, those votes are deleted. I always enjoy seeing my score rise after the voting ends.:)


Interesting. I never knew this. Always wondered why my score jumped up at the end of the challenge. Where did you hear this? Does this apply with other votes......people marking everything 2?
07/30/2003 08:25:26 PM · #24
Originally posted by PaulMdx:

Everything taught in school has some fundamental use for DPC. :-)


... waiting for those rope-climbing drills in gym class to kick in here ...

Message edited by author 2003-07-30 20:25:44.
07/30/2003 10:46:02 PM · #25
Originally posted by PaulMdx:

Originally posted by bosie:

and you shouldnt forget the "human-factor", giving for a very nice shot just a 1 or 2 because of being jealous of the photographer's skills,etc.

One way or another, I need some reason to justify my drop of 0.78. :-(


I had a huge drop this week as well... The "Law of Large Numbers" implies that after 40 votes, you shouldn't drift too far up or down in score... However, I had about a 5.7 after 40 and woke today to a 4.6 with 96 votes... That's a pretty huge shift with relatively small number of votes... I've gotten fairly good at guessing my final scores and I figured a 5.4 or so... I think we'll see a large shift when the "anti-idiot-vote" software kicks in at the end of this week.
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