tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7701757403364514168.post6366011882260040041..comments2009-12-20T12:29:43.426-05:00joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12809501199806590382noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7701757403364514168.post-63708350256200123152009-12-20T12:29:43.426-05:002009-12-20T12:29:43.426-05:00The absolute number of stars you give something don&#39;t matter -- what we&#39;re analyzing is which puns you rate as funnier than which others.<br /><br />I actually considered having people compare puns in a forced choice, but the math for analyzing such a study is more complicated. And, in fact, having people rate things on scales works remarkably well, which is why it&#39;s the standard methodology -- not just in science but also on Amazon.joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15107067137612954306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7701757403364514168.post-65989524965325167892009-12-20T05:39:53.574-05:002009-12-20T05:39:53.574-05:00I had a go at the pun game, but I gave up rather quickly. To be honest, I don&#39;t like the methodology: I don&#39;t know <i>how</i> to score something as to how funny it is unless I am given some kind of benchmark, so that I can say, for example, that four stars means funnier than joke X but not as funny as joke Y.<br /><br />I would have had more patience had the experiment required relative scoring of some sort, for example if it had presented the partipant with a random pair of puns and asked which, if any, is the funnier.outerhoardhttp://outerhoard.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com