Discovered: The most practical job for a philosophy major

While reading Truehoop, a blog on ESPN.com about the NBA, I came across a post getting a professional gambler’s take on the NBA referee scandal.  In case you don’t follow sports, an NBA referee was indicted last summer in connection with betting on games, some of which he presided over.  Anyway, Mr. Haralabos Voulgaris (ironically appropriate last name) makes a living exclusively from betting on NBA games.  According to the interview he watches thousands of hours of tape, analyzing matchups for his statistical models.  Whence did he get these analytical skills which he has turned into crass and lucrative wagering?  He was a philosophy major.

I was in the process of getting a degree in Philosophy at the University of Manitoba and I began to wonder what I was going to do with myself, the prospect of continuing my education and going on to grad school wasn’t too exciting.

So he did the next logical thing- he bet on professional athletes who jump around and throw a piece of inflated animal hide into a metal loop suspended ten feet above the ground.  

I think the NBA has gone through a successful slogan transitionary period.  Once it was, “The NBA…….its faaaaaantastic.”  Now its, “Where amazing happens.”  But I think we have uncovered the next wave, “The NBA……more exciting than a philosophy degree.”

 

full interview