Intelligence and the ASA rule book

[greymule]

I know a guy who scored 800 on the SAT math (40 years ago, when it was much harder), fell just short of 800 on the English SAT and the English achievement, and was graduated from a US News & World Report "Top 25" college.

He has a remarkable vocabulary and facility with words. University professors come to him for advice regarding articles they are submitting to peer-reviewed journals.

He was also a pretty good ballplayer.

Remarkably, however, though he has read ASA's DEFO rule over and over, he claims that he still does not understand it.

[bkbjones]

Tell him to go to Emily's website and download the slide show...then come back if he has any more questions.

[KJ'sDAD]

I know a guy who scored 800 on the SAT math (40 years ago, when it was much harder)

Math or the SAT test? 2+2 was 4, forty years ago and it still is today. I think.

Sorry, I'm being silly, but I too have diffficuly wrapping my head around the DEFO rules.

Kevin

[Dakota]

OK, guys, you know this is coming...

Also check out the handouts on Softball Umpires.

[whiskers_ump]

Originally posted by Dakota
OK, guys, you know this is coming...

Also check out the handouts on Softball Umpires.

And rightfully mention it you should.

Tom,

Have been unable to open the Understanding Rules for DP/FLEX. Keeps saying error on page. Opened Cecil's though.

Are both yours and Steve's versions on the other heading?

[Skahtboi]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by whiskers_ump

Have been unable to open the Understanding Rules for DP/FLEX. Keeps saying error on page.

Worked just fine for me. I just went and tried it.

[Dakota]

Originally posted by whiskers_ump
Have been unable to open the Understanding Rules for DP/FLEX. Keeps saying error on page. Opened Cecil's though.

Are both yours and Steve's versions on the other heading?

Steve's two articles and my article are different kinds of postings than Cecil's. I put Cecil's up as a simple web page. This means any web browser can open it. Steve's NCAA writeup is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Steve's DH v. DP comparison and my "Understanding..." article are both Microsoft Word documents. For these last three, then, the browser will open a pop-up window for you to download the articles. If you have an agressive pop-up blocker active, it may require you to tell the blocker "open this one anyway" (which for my blocker is holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the link - but then, my blocker doesn't block these popups anyway).

HTH.

[whiskers_ump]

Tom,

I still cannot get into the Understanding DP/FLEX.

I cleaned cookies,
used ctrl key when attempting, but nothing works.
Soooo, must be me, cause others can get it.

Thanks

[Dakota]

Try it now, Glen. I've posted two other formats for those files - pdf (for the Adobe reader) and htm (web page). You should be able to make one of them work.

[whiskers_ump]

Originally posted by Dakota
Try it now, Glen. I've posted two other formats for those files - pdf (for the Adobe reader) and htm (web page). You should be able to make one of them work.

Thanks Tom..works great. Need copies for the seven new
NFHS umpires we got this year.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by greymule
I know a guy who scored 800 on the SAT math (40 years ago, when it was much harder), fell just short of 800 on the English SAT and the English achievement, and was graduated from a US News & World Report "Top 25" college.

He has a remarkable vocabulary and facility with words. University professors come to him for advice regarding articles they are submitting to peer-reviewed journals.

He was also a pretty good ballplayer.

Remarkably, however, though he has read ASA's DEFO rule over and over, he claims that he still does not understand it.

The only thing I have to say about your friend is, "so what!"

He has a high IQ and attended a "top 25" college. Oooooohh, should I be impressed? Give me a break! My cousin is working on his 20-something year in college as a professional student and does very well for himself, on campus. Take him out into the real world and he is totally useless.

I know folks working on their PhD's that need a pencil and paper to subtract 77 from 100 and still not get it the first time.

I'm sorry, but testing intelligent and being smart are not necessarily synonymous and in the real world the distance between the two can be as vast as it may be narrow.


Like it or not, and you tell us every year about the faults of this publication, it is not produced to satisfy literary purist or win any awards. It's purpose is to maintain a structured set of rules by which the ASA-sanctioned game is to be governed. The rules themselves demand the book be considered as a whole, not by chapter and verse.

One thing is for sure, maybe your buddy should avoid umpiring softball

JMHO,

[greymule]

The only thing I have to say about your friend is, "so what!"

He has a high IQ and attended a "top 25" college. Oooooohh, should I be impressed?

No. Many people test high and attend good colleges. You and I undoubtedly know quite a few. We may have done the same things ourselves. I cited those things simply as evidence that the guy is not stupid.

Give me a break! My cousin is working on his 20-something year in college as a professional student and does very well for himself, on campus. Take him out into the real world and he is totally useless.

I know folks working on their PhD's that need a pencil and paper to subtract 77 from 100 and still not get it the first time.

Yes, there are those people. Bell Labs had a theoretical physicist who made all kinds of important discoveries and even won a Nobel prize, but they had to have someone travel with him so he wouldn't get lost in the airport. They had another genius who, when he walked, always did so backwards. They had to tell him it was time to go home, or he'd work night and day, unaware of the time. And supposedly Einstein used to forget where he lived and the police would drive him home. My friend is not like that. The U.S. Air Force would not have let him fly B-52s if he was. Incidentally, the only reason I know his test scores is that I went to school with him and saw the postcard when it came from ETS. I've never known him to brag about his achievements, show off his knowledge, or disparage the comments and opinions of people who know less than he does.

And he freely admits his inferiority when it comes to grasping the DP/FLEX whatever rule.

I'm sorry, but testing intelligent and being smart are not necessarily synonymous and in the real world the distance between the two can be as vast as it may be narrow.

It is impossible to score high on tests accidently. Nobody who scores high is stupid. However, such a person can be brilliant in certain areas and remarkably weak in others. But these people are the exception, not the rule.

As for the ASA rule book, I don't expect it to be well written. But it shouldn't be so badly written.

[bkbjones]

Perhaps I should turn in my indicator...missed two questions on my ACT and six on my SAT...actually netted money by going to college...but that was years ago.

However, I do understand the whole FLEX deal, as well as the other stuff in the rule book, and understand that it ain't necessarily what you know that counts as much as the common sense application of those rules. To carry it a step farther, I know of "ump nerds" who miss questions on purpose on tests just to try to be better accepted by our umpiring peers.

I also understand that a lotta nerds (and yes, I am one) don't have a lot of common sense -- but let's don't paint them all with that broad brush. If it's the fellow from Bell Labs who I figure y'all are talkin about, he is just one of a few million who suffer from some form of Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism.

I could go on, but don't want to beat a deceased eqqus...

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by greymule
The only thing I have to say about your friend is, "so what!"

He has a high IQ and attended a "top 25" college. Oooooohh, should I be impressed?

No. Many people test high and attend good colleges. You and I undoubtedly know quite a few. We may have done the same things ourselves. I cited those things simply as evidence that the guy is not stupid.

Never said or even insinuated he was stupid.

I know folks working on their PhD's that need a pencil and paper to subtract 77 from 100 and still not get it the first time.

Yes, there are those people. Bell Labs had a theoretical physicist who made all kinds of important discoveries and even won a Nobel prize, but they had to have someone travel with him so he wouldn't get lost in the airport. They had another genius who, when he walked, always did so backwards. They had to tell him it was time to go home, or he'd work night and day, unaware of the time. And supposedly Einstein used to forget where he lived and the police would drive him home. My friend is not like that. The U.S. Air Force would not have let him fly B-52s if he was.

Bad analogy. I use to work a store in P'cola across the street from an appartment complex where a handful of the Blue Angels lived and were regular customers. They drive jets at an unbelievable speed and very close range, but there were a couple of guys I wouldn't trust figuring out the check at the restaurant.

I'm sorry, but testing intelligent and being smart are not necessarily synonymous and in the real world the distance between the two can be as vast as it may be narrow.

It is impossible to score high on tests accidently. Nobody who scores high is stupid. However, such a person can be brilliant in certain areas and remarkably weak in others. But these people are the exception, not the rule.

As for the ASA rule book, I don't expect it to be well written. But it shouldn't be so badly written.

Scoring high on a test means one thing, the individual tests well. Intelligent, most likely, but I know people who couldn't pass a test if their life depended on it and they were more intelligent than a couple of Rhodies I know. Wasn't it the Bandit that said, "It all depends where you are standing as to how intelligent you are"?

Meanwhile, I don't believe the ASA rule book is that poorly written. I have no problem with it, but then again, maybe that's because I'm not a literary person.

I know the game and the rules. I utilize that knowledge with the schools, clinics and experience I have attained over the years and use that in conjunction with the rule book to work the game.

The rule book is NOT a "How to" book you can pick up at Home Depot and go out and work a softball game. I suggust your friend attend a few clinics and then reread Rule 4, in whole. Then POE 15 and then Rule 4 again. See if he gets it then.

Mike

[SC Ump]

Originally posted by greymule
And supposedly Einstein used to forget where he lived and the police would drive him home.

Yep. Most people don't realize that Ol' Uncle Albert was a tequila man.