Here are the 2021 predictions graded. My average Brier Score was 0.227 whereas a coin tosser Brier is 0.25. A perfectly accurate forecaster scores 0 and perfectly inaccurate forecaster is 1. The big misses will be in bold.
My guesses are blue, outcomes are red. The closer the blue is to the red the more accurate I was. This chart makes the predictions looks okay.
But when I bucket them it gets worse.
Hurricanes. NOAA “An average season has 12 named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.” Will there be more than 12 named storms? Yes, 90%. Will there be more than 30 named storms (the 2020 record)? Yes, 25% Will there be 3 or more major hurricanes (top winds of 111+mph)? Yes, 60% Will I lose power at my home in Central Florida for more than 3 days? Yes, 10%.
Overall there were 21 named storms and four of which were major and we didn’t lose power at all this summer. Mostly these were safe but relevant predictions. Hurricanes are one of those things I’d like to appreciate correctly. Like an alligator on the river bank, I want to know enough to take a good photo but also to keep my fingers.
Blog.
Will this blog have more than 41,000 views in 2021 (41k is the 2020 number)? Yes, 15% Will this blog have more than 800 posts by year end? Yes, 30%
The blog had 29,000 views and 908 blog posts and a whopping 335,000 lifetime views (!!). What’s surprising was my inability to predict myself. As things go, I got into a great writing streak in the summer and fall of 2021 and the posts reflected that.
Finance
BTC will top 75,000 at any point in the year? Yes, 10% BTC will be under 30,000 at any point in the year (started 2020 at this point)? Yes, 20% ETH will top 5,000 at any point in the year? Yes 5% ETH will be under 130 at any point in the year (started 2020 at this point)? Yes, 20% BRKB will top 275 at any point in the year? Yes 10% BRKB will be under 234 at any point in the year (started 2020 at this point)? Yes, 30%
First, in hindsight this was cheating. ‘At any point in the year‘ is a case of something is always happening. To get better at predicting I need to ask better questions. The biggest paired misses of the year were my guesses about Berkshire Hathaway stock ($BRKB). I thought there was a 10% chance of the stock being under 234 and 30% being over 275 (and that’s with the generous ‘at any point’ language).
I’m not quite sure what to think of this one. Robinhood and retail? The stock didn’t move more than 20-40 points in 2018 or 2019 and as a ‘value’ stock I expected tighter growth. Though mostly correct on crypto, with hindsight the range of outcomes is much wider.
Economic Recovery These will be graded per Bill McBride’s numbers on Calculate Risk. Any single day of the last week of the year will top 2M travelers (2019 was 2.0-2.5M)? Yes, 75% Open Table reservations will be down less than 10% YOY? Yes, 75% Open Table reservations will be positive YOY? Yes, 20% Any movie earns more than 250M on opening weekend during the year (highest grossing movies)? Yes, 5% Hotel occupancy tops 60% (graph)? Yes 80% Hotel occupancy tops 70%? Yes, 60%
Mostly got these correct and directionally too. Predicted 75, 75, 80, and 60% for events that all happened. Missed reservations being positive but grading it I can’t remember what this meant. Also missed on movie opening as Spider Man No Way Home earned 270M, partly from my two daughters and me.
Sports
As of year-end, Tom Brady averages +270 ypg? Yes, 30% The Lakers are NBA champions? Yes, 25%
Tom Brady continues to amaze averaging 313 yards per game. And our Aaron Rodgers saga comes to an end, with Rodgers just falling short by 1.5 touchdowns. This one is another head scratcher. Rodgers had two games with no touchdowns and missed a game due to Covid. Is this the variance that Plus EV noted or was it just luck?
The Waiter's Pad 