Brain on Sports Podcast: A statistical defense of the hot hand phenomenon
“This is Your Brain on Sports” is a new podcast from Sports Illustrated in which SI executive editor Jon Wertheim and Tufts University psychology professor Sam Sommers explore the intersection of sports and human nature—what the world of sports has to teach us about who we are, what we care about and the forces that shape our behavior. On this week's episode, economists Adam Sanjurjo and Joshua Miller join the podcast to discuss their findings in the long-standing debate over the existence of the hot hand—the phenomenon describing the groove basketball players and other athletes appear to enter from time to time that has sparked decades of discussion in the sports world and beyond.
Sanjurjo and Miller provide an overview of their research in a recently released paper that they believe validates the claims of athletes everywhere: It is in fact possible for players to “heat up” and make enough shots in a row that they become measurably more likely to make the next one.
Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and check back every week for a new episode.
