When it comes to athletic prowess, don’t believe your eyes.

The above link is New Yorker article written by Malcolm Gladwell on the highly esteemed Allen Iverson. Iverson is ranked as one of the best players of the game by coaches and fans alike. He is an exciting player to watch but is he worth all the press? Based on research by Berri et al. and a close look at his statistics, Iverson is far from one of the top 10 players in the game. Based on the algorithm by Berri, he averages a career ranking of 116 in the league. But we’d still rather see Iverson have the ball in the last seconds of the game instead of one of his statistically better teammates. How can this be?

Gladwell explains that, even around the business table, there is room for an unwarranted reputation. For example, Gladwell says, “Boards of directors vote to pay C.E.O.s tens of millions of dollars, ostensibly because they believe—on the basis of what they have learned over the years by watching other C.E.O.s—that they are worth it.” The truth of the matter is that we often become blind to all the stats and variables involved and it becomes too hard for us to judge without bias. We choose what we want to see, regardless of the actual statistics. We often look to the experts to see where they stand but Gladwell shows that even the experts aren’t perfect. “Basketball’s decision-makers, it seems, are simply irrational.” From this article, it seems to me like the next big basketball star is the next big herd.