One Synth Challenge #159: Surge XT (j5v Wins!)

[FrogsInPants]

You can generalize this example to some mathematic proposition that says essentially that if you rate under average, you WILL get some statistical advantage

Exactly. It's not going to make a difference unless the results are very close and you're near the top anyway. I'm not saying it's a serious problem. But I do find such scoring a little suspicious.

The other thing about scoring lower than average is that if you do give out just a few 4s and 5s, but still score most pieces well under the average, you are inflating the value of your votes. Like, if the average is 3, but the average points you give out is 2, a 5 from you is worth 1 point more than the average 5.

Vote your conscience, but if your scores stand out as substantially below the average, it does look like you might be trying to get a small advantage for yourself, or you might think your opinion should count more than others'. Maybe you think that's just the optimal way for people to vote and everyone should be doing it that way. But people don't, and it does stand out.

(the opposite is also true, but I've always rated way higher than average hhahahahah ).

I am also a sucker. I might worry about it more if I ever find myself within a point or two of the top 5.

[liqih]

I believe that the variations in mood and age of the listener, audio monitor type, time of the day and other contingencies, always produce randomness in the results.
A variance that is directly proportional to the number of participants. Therefore when your start to have more that 30 tracks, with a quite homogenous high quality like we have this month, our aware votes will be diluted in the random cloud I said above, which will make the intelligent voting not so important as we might think it is.

[doctorbob]

This ^^^^^^
dB

[Julian Olsen]

@ Yadrichik:

I wish you all the strength you need during the following time, and a little extra power so you can fully recharge your batteries if needed. For your mom a speedy and full recovery. C U back when things are better.

Cheerz

J O

[treeheated]

Voted.

Yadrichik_Chaya: Thanks for sharing your special kind of music with us! I hope we do see you again soon!

[Double Tap]

I have voted.

Excellent tracks this month in all genres - @silverpants went back to his dark soundtrack style, a superb sequel to ”A Behemothaur Approaches” - but even darker!

I would say that @ELEX and @Double Tap , without a doubt, made the most humorous tracks! (sorry for not leaving comments!)

Superb video game Jazz-Fusion by @cdbaksu and @ZioMau !!

Great imagination trip by @IV! (especially the last third part!!!)

@Marks-a-whybikky - 5 points after just one listen! (have to listen many more times though)
@j5v amazing physical modeling stuff!
@Leonard Bowman (only effects!!!)

Plus many other really great top scoring tracks not mentioned but the @Korg Supporter Jack Frost's entry really spoke to me the most of all the entries.



I'm also saying goodbye to all of you OSCers, I started on my entry really late into the month but what really made me discard the entry completely with no plans to participate at all was after my mother out of nowhere had to be taken to the hospital - turns out she had water in her lungs and a damaged heart valve. She had heart surgery and I obviously felt very sad/depressed & extreme stress but when she finally woke up from the surgery and I heard her voice I thought I'd might as well, in the very last minute, upload my Surge XT entry with all its flaws etc.

That is the reason I've hardly commented on entries or answered the comments on my own entry.

My mother was surprised that I was so sad and said: - ”But you're a buddhist!”
Hehehe hmmm she obviously have no clue that The Buddha said that one's parents are more worthy of gifts and praise than all the various Devas in the heavens and the Gods in higher realms(!). That you can never repay your parents for all they've done for you.

The Buddha also said that the tears one has shed, from losing loved ones over and over again in all the various previous lives one has had, is greater than all the oceans…Pretty much sums it up!

Now I will focus on taking care of my mother as she recovers, spoil her with good food and obviously not participate in upcoming OSC's or even be that active on the internet.

I've met some really great people here (you know who you are!) who have inspired me not only when it comes to music production tricks & music/harmony but also other stuff!

I might show up here in OSC again maybe 4-5 months from now, but in the meantime a big thank you to everybody! Keep on making those OSC tracks!

Take care everybody and congrats in advance to the top 5!

Good luck - definitely the best thing you can do - you'd regret it if you didn't. Give her hugs from all of us.

[Korg Supporter]

I have voted.

Excellent tracks this month in all genres - @silverpants went back to his dark soundtrack style, a superb sequel to ”A Behemothaur Approaches” - but even darker!

I would say that @ELEX and @Double Tap , without a doubt, made the most humorous tracks! (sorry for not leaving comments!)

Superb video game Jazz-Fusion by @cdbaksu and @ZioMau !!

Great imagination trip by @IV! (especially the last third part!!!)

@Marks-a-whybikky - 5 points after just one listen! (have to listen many more times though)
@j5v amazing physical modeling stuff!
@Leonard Bowman (only effects!!!)

Plus many other really great top scoring tracks not mentioned but the @Korg Supporter Jack Frost's entry really spoke to me the most of all the entries.



I'm also saying goodbye to all of you OSCers, I started on my entry really late into the month but what really made me discard the entry completely with no plans to participate at all was after my mother out of nowhere had to be taken to the hospital - turns out she had water in her lungs and a damaged heart valve. She had heart surgery and I obviously felt very sad/depressed & extreme stress but when she finally woke up from the surgery and I heard her voice I thought I'd might as well, in the very last minute, upload my Surge XT entry with all its flaws etc.

That is the reason I've hardly commented on entries or answered the comments on my own entry.

My mother was surprised that I was so sad and said: - ”But you're a buddhist!”
Hehehe hmmm she obviously have no clue that The Buddha said that one's parents are more worthy of gifts and praise than all the various Devas in the heavens and the Gods in higher realms(!). That you can never repay your parents for all they've done for you.

The Buddha also said that the tears one has shed, from losing loved ones over and over again in all the various previous lives one has had, is greater than all the oceans…Pretty much sums it up!

Now I will focus on taking care of my mother as she recovers, spoil her with good food and obviously not participate in upcoming OSC's or even be that active on the internet.

I've met some really great people here (you know who you are!) who have inspired me not only when it comes to music production tricks & music/harmony but also other stuff!

I might show up here in OSC again maybe 4-5 months from now, but in the meantime a big thank you to everybody! Keep on making those OSC tracks!

Take care everybody and congrats in advance to the top 5!

I really appreciate your comment on my track, and I hope your mom will get better soon. I have high regard and respect for Buddhism and find it one of the most fascinating religions in the world. Its history has been documented as much as Christianity's, and it has rich literature, cosmology, and art!

[Andreya_Autumn]

Voted! Lots of great tracks, thanks everyone. <3

@Yadrick: All the best to you. May good things come your and your mothers way!

[diaseis]

Great analysis

What I find interesting about the scoring is that usually the winner gets more 5s than everyone else, and in fact you can usually rank the top 10 or so according to the number of 5s they get. Occasionally someone will get an unusually high number of 4s which pushes them up a place or two, but that's quite rare.

Which tells me that the voting system is working pretty effectively at discovering which track the most people here like the most. So I don't think it matters all that much.

I totally agree. However, fixing that statistic bias would be fairly easy, as it would only need to normalize each participants voter : you just divide each grade of a participant by the total amount of point given by the voter. The sum of the grades is then equal to 1. Then you apply the same principles that already exists and multiply back by 5 to obtain an unbiased note.

However, I just share this as I find it fun to think about because I like math, this is by no means a request, I honnestly don't think it would make a big difference anyway. Maybe I'll try to compute it next round just out of curiosity.

[diaseis]

The other thing about scoring lower than average is that if you do give out just a few 4s and 5s, but still score most pieces well under the average, you are inflating the value of your votes. Like, if the average is 3, but the average points you give out is 2, a 5 from you is worth 1 point more than the average 5.

We speak the same language ! But as you say, probably not a big deal anyway considering the number of participants

[] Peter:H []

Voted

Sorry folks, all your reasoning about voting below average is skewed as probability distribution graphs sometimes are... a mean/average is NOT a distribution. A mean is a mean and only tells something about a mean vote. Means can be the same with heavily skewed distributions: two votes like 1,5 are the same as 3,3.
Then in an "delta" based view ... lets say we have three tracks A,B,C and one voter choose to start her baseline at 2, the other at 3. But A=2,B=2,C=3 is the same as A=3,B=3,C=4 from a comparative viewpoint while the average is quite different. So please don't make any false assumptions about what the average means. Average is one thing, variance/std deviation and skewedness the other...

Another funny example: When you usually have few 5s, more 4s, most 3, then less 2s than 3s and almost as few 1s as 5s and then you switch 1s and 5s - what does the mean for your average?

When sbdy uses a baseline of 1 or 2 for example - then the assumption that she looks for a comparative advantage might hold, but it is still only an assumption about someones motivation to choose a baseline ... because while choosing the base line the person does not know the final average at all... could be an interesting though experiment in the domain of game theory - why would I choose a higher or lower baseline when the experiment is "a sequence of 5-10 OSCs"

[Impedance Music]

Voted! Gave away too many points.. So I will definitely have to change my voting system for future OSCs.

I tried to comment on all tracks. Well..tried.... But still i got 41/56 which is a little bit more than my usual lack of comments XD

The average quality of the tracks are really high! Well done everyone!

@Yadrichik_Chaya Best wishes to you and your mother. I hope she gets better soon! You are absolutely doing the right thing! Take care of yourself too and I think we can all agree that we will be waiting for you with open arms when you feel ready to come back.

[rilderec]

@Yadrichik_Chaya
Hoping to see you again in this challenge, my little finger tells me that you will eventually come back quickly, take care of your family

[ZioMau]

...finally it's a game!
Prize is not billion dollars. Mainly a funny game...useful, improving, teaching, motivating...but only a game.
We have same great passion in this contest, speak same language and this would be everything for me to give everybody 5 point.
My voting range is 2 to 5 but sadly i give low ratings.
I don't remember previous month received votes, don't remember votes i gave, don't remember flattering comments, don't think to a math challenge, i reset every month. It's a pleasure to be with you everybody that i consider friends with same passion: music!
badness...revenge...are not allowed here.
It's just a game!

P.S. Yad, good luck to your mother. We want you to be here with us as soon as possible!

Ciao!

[L-EctroBit]

voted!