Before you start reading this, let’s just check in with WinViz. On the basis of data synthesised from previous pieces, this column currently has a 51% chance of being a success. You don’t need to know the precise workings of the algorithm, but rest assured it takes into account everything from page views and completion rates to the volume of anger registered in below-the-line comments – along with a unique proprietary sneer metric. Intuitive, AI‑powered analysis can even detect irony fatigue. And I see we’ve just dropped to 38%.
Cricket fans will know the drill. WinViz may have been around only a few years but already it is impossible to imagine the sport without it. During the recent Ashes, the most unpredictable in the contest’s history, its pie-face was forever popping up on screen to offer its percentage opinion on how likely England or Australia were to win. Which, under Bazball conditions, is about as useful as being shown where are you on a county map of Bedfordshire while you’re flying over it in an F-15.
