Posted by 481: I can vary my assumptions all that I want and that still tells me nothing about a gunfight until it occurs.
It does tell you what you might reaonably expect.
You can press calculator buttons 'til the numbers wear off of them, but you are still playing "what if" based off of assumed and arbitrary numbers and it doesn't mean anymore than it did without those numbers. Playing "what if" with numbers is still playing "what if".
First, the assumtions can be reaaonably assessed within ranges uisng empirical data, and as Bart pointed out, the hit rate assumption need not be arbitrary.
Second, all forecasting, estimation, simulation, and prediction excercises, whether they involve weather, combat, financial returns, medical prognosis, reliability, servce life--you name it--constitute " playing 'what if' ", to use your characterization of the term.
I can assume a "hit rate" of 90% or 9%, but it is still just an assumption. I can assume one bad guy or two, but it is still just an assumption.
What is your point?
I can assume that I have "X" number of bullets, but that is just an assumption.
No. That's a known fact.
No one needs an exercise in math to tell them that-
-if you run out of bullets, you'll be unable to shoot back
-no matter how good a shot you are, some of your shots will miss their mark due to the stress of a gunfight
-it is harder to shoot two bad guys with guns as opposed to one guy with one gun
-if you are a lousy shot and use up all of your bullets before stopping the bad guys, they'll most likely shoot you
-launching more bullets might produce more hits
Of course not. We all understood all of those things, logically and intuitively.
What John's exercise does for us is provide a reasonable quantification of the likelihood with different round counts.
You may have had an appreciation for the difference, but I did not, John says that he did not, and I seriously doubt that we are alone.
I've never seen a calculator laying around at a gunfight. (and I've borne witness to that type of mindless carnage too many times to have missed such a ridiculous thing)
What is the point of that comment?
MLeake said:And you've said at least once before that you are done with this thread.
j3ffr0 said:-Spray and pray can be a valid technique for some situations. It's even taught in the military from my understanding. It's called suppressive fire. One needs to look no further than post #99 for a real world example. "Gramins let loose with a barrage of rounds hoping that what he might lose in accuracy would be compensated for by its suppressive nature. " I hope I never have to use it. It won't be very good option for us folks who don't carry higher capacity pistols.
CrowHunter said:481
So
You are saying that because a mathematical model can't be used to predict ever single variable that might happen in a gun fight that it is useless?
CrowHunter said:So, since the mathematical models that were used to send men to the Moon or the Curiosity Rover to Mars couldn't possibly account for every single variable, that they shouldn't be used and we should just "wing it"?
CrowHunter said:While it can't account for reality, it can point someone in the general direction of thought processes and either back up, or dash certain "common sense".
CrowHunter said:There are A LOT of people out there that carry a gun on a daily basis with 5 shots with no reload who believe that they adequately armed for any situation and don't need any "high cap tacticool crap" to defend themselves.
What this model demonstrates is potential fallacies with this line of thinking. If someone can perform at an increased performance level than the inputs into this model, under these circumstances, they may be perfectly right. It might actually be like the saloon scene in Unforgiven.
To be perfectly honest, the likelihood of sucess of a single person in a gun battle with 2 determined attackers is probably even less than what John posted unless there are some other factors involved. Like someone runs away, they shoot worse than you, you have cover, weapon malfunctions, etc. Most of the time, just the presence of the weapon will be enough to end hostilities, but that isn't something that I would want to count on.
CrowHunter said:I think it is a wonderful tool for getting people to look at their circumstances and possibly "try this at home" with their shooting practice. Set up a couple of targets, draw and fire after having done 15 pushups or running to a table. Then try it one handed or with their off hand, or from the ground as though they had been actually attacked 1st.
CrowHunter said:They may find that they need a different plan or they my get great comfort in their newfound abilities.
To Poo Poo statistical modeling because it doesn't fit reality is short sighted and demonstrates a basic misunderstanding of how it is used and how results should be interpreted.
CrowHunter said:While it can't account for reality...
In this case, yes. It is all just guesswork. Statistical guesswork.
The models used to calculate such landings are based upon physical law- gravitational acceleration & decceleration, momentum, the amount of impulse a propellant/rocket motor can produce, they produce real results confirmable through trial and error. The statistical model being offered here is a probabalistic model- it, at best, offers what might happen if some variable(s) happens to be in place at the right time and the right place. There is much more uncertainty there than in the orbital mechanics equations you allude to. It's a common error.
Look at that. You did that all without needing to resort to a probabalistic model. Why resort to all sorts of fuzzy math, when you can just apply common sense?
CrowHunter said:Yes, it is a probabalistic model, all models are. There is no way to account for an infinite number of variable in any calculation. So you look at the variables that are statistically probable and discount the others as negligable either in likelihood or magnitude. Since it is impossible have a working model of Mars or the Moon here on earth, they had to make "assumptions" based on statistics and model them as part of their calculations.
CrowHunter said:Because "common sense" isn't really all that common. I can guarantee you that at least 75% of the CCW carriers (probably more than that based on the cross section of posters I have seen reading on this forum) in the US have never even thought about what they would do if they had to shoot one handed due to injury or other circumstances and firmly believe that they will do "just as good" in real life as they do on a static range AND most of them probably CAN'T shoot as good as your average police officer.
CrowHunter said:Therefore, if you take the average hit percentage of police officers and apply it statistically only taking into account the factors of the number of rounds and hit percentage and see that it is statistically nearly impossible to prevail with only 5 shots, maybe someone will take that to heart and decide to practice realistically, and arm themselves realistically and use tactics best suited to their weapon of choice.
I don't see why anyone would have issue with this. It isn't supposed to be reality. But if it makes just one single person do something to improve their chances in real life, it wasn't a waste of time.
481 said:By your own admission, you make several assumptions (probability of making a hit, etc) that may or may not hold true under all conditions and then proceed to explore hypothetical situations using those as a basis for that work.
481 said:The models used to calculate such landings are based upon physical law- gravitational acceleration & decceleration, momentum, the amount of impulse a propellant/rocket motor can produce, they produce real results confirmable through trial and error.
Bart said:Well, I am convinced. No more making any assumption that doesn't hold true under all conditions. I mean, I had always assumed I would not need a .375 H&H to kill a charging elephant; but clearly, there are conditions where that was necessary for others. So because my assumption failed to hold true for all conditions, it must be an invalid or useless assumption, yes?
Bart said:So those models produce real results confirmable through trial and error; but the number of rounds you will have in your firearm during a gunfight is an arbitrary and unknown number over which we have no control?
You don't need a model for that. If I am disabled (to some varying extent), by something then my abilities suffer. To what extent is an unknown. The model has no way to account for a condition like this unless you make an assumption as to how much you will be disabled. More guesswork.
CrowHunter said:He laid it out and demonstrated statistically just 5 rounds with no reload might not be enough with the assumptions/inputs he stated.
CrowHunter said:But "reality" isn't what this is about.
481 said:I said "may or may not hold true". Using what I said within an incorrect context is a faulty argument device.
481 said:"it is in no way an accurate portrayal of reality and no valid conclusions can be drawn from such a highly speculative exercise."
"I can vary my assumptions all that I want and that still tells me nothing about a gunfight until it occurs. You can press calculator buttons 'til the numbers wear off of them, but you are still playing "what if" based off of assumed and arbitrary numbers and it doesn't mean anymore than it did without those numbers. Playing "what if" with numbers is still playing "what if".
"But it is still assumed and just as pointless. You will, cannot, know what your "hit rate" will be until you're an actual participant in a gunfight."
"In this case, yes. It is all just guesswork. Statistical guesswork."
481 said:Sure. There's uncertainty everywhere.
CrowHunter said:To Poo Poo statistical modeling because it doesn't fit reality is short sighted and demonstrates a basic misunderstanding of how it is used and how results should be interpreted.
Bart said:You seem to be insisting on absolute certainty/always valid assumptions.
481 said:If it doesn't "fit reality", what's the point? Why bother?
I am not saying that you cannot play "what if" 'til your heart's content, but to think that you are going to get real answers from numerical fantasizing is a "fool's errand".
If I assume that I have a greater "hit rate" then I actually have (an invalid assumption) and draw the conclusion that I need only "x" number of rounds to successfully handle "y" number of attackers (an invalid conclusion) when in fact I'll need more, I am gonna have a really bad day when I come across "y" number of attackers.
Of course, all of this presumes that we can predict our "hit rates" under the duress of a gun fight to a reasonable degree of precision and certainty.
If it doesn't "fit reality", what's the point? Why bother?
And by mere fiat, one can change those assumptions/inputs to justify that that very same arrangement will be enough.
CrowHunter said:So, your argument, in a nutshell, is that it is a waste of time trying to model what could happen in a situation where you had to defend yourself against 2 assailants becaue it is obvious that a person shouldn't be carrying a 5 shot revolver with no reload.
CrowHunter said:Yes you can. But your inputs might be looked upon as suspect. 100% hit rate is not something that is likely to occur. While a 30-40% hit rate is what has been demonstrated by police officers in many regions of the country.