great read on the way that numbers don’t always tell the story in the new york times magazine a week + half back. entitled the no-stats all-star, the story of how large of a presence shane battier has is well done + hints at what malcolm gladwell refers to in outliers as “practical intelligence”. actually should be a physical sibling of practical intelligence that refers to more the abilities that one has + uses but aren’t measurable in many senses.

this idea is actually what really generated my interest in galen rowell + his work. he was that extremely rare combination of technical skill, intelligence + physical aptitude that could bring all those advantages together in his work.

in terms of sports + basketball, i’m a believer that what generates wins + loses + really makes something a success or not goes much, much deeper than the visible. battier almost lives by this purposely not scoring so as to remain an uncalculated threat.

in this age of blogs, tweets, look at me technology + habits it’s good to see that quiet hard work can still elevate. and if that’s true in a realm as flashy as the nba then surely we as creatives can improve with a little no-stat game. it’s about working within the process, doing what we do best – credit or not – + then letting the cards fall as it may.

ps – interesting follow up letters in this weeks NYT mag as well as a hilarious interview with the gentlemen of flight of the conchords as well as a pointed take on google’s work with the life magazine image archive.