Calls for radical transparency are everywhere.

Even in the sports world.

Anywhere you have:

1. Massive amounts of data that is publicly visible;

2. Enough geeks who care about collecting that data;

3. Enough geeks who care about manipulating that data;

…then you have the prospect of a data-driven revolution based on radical transparency.

Bill Simmons says “hey, Houston Rockets ownership, I know you’re collecting proprietary data about ‘how many blocked shots actually create a change in possession’. Why not open that data?”

There is a follow-up question that Mr. Simmons does not ask, but it is an obvious question, especially to us in the open source world. And that question is, “why aren’t stat geeks watching the games, recording these stats themselves, and sharing this data?”

The fact that these sports stats geeks are now gathering to hold these discussions at MIT is fascinating to me.

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