Sports fans rejoice! Hot hand vindicated!

Edition: US - Today's top story: Momentum isn't magic – vindicating the hot hand with the mathematics of streaks [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 1 April 2017 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note It’s a big weekend for college basketball fans, many of whom have never doubted that athletes can be on fire. But amazing streaks were pooh-poohed by the experts – they said having hot hands was a myth, just due to the human tendency to see patterns in randomness. Fast forward three decades. Economists Joshua Miller and Adam Sanjurjo have identified a flaw in the original statistical analysis that means the hot hand can rise again. They explain the probabilities that show [you can believe in momentum]( while “maintaining your intellectual respectability.” Since Chuck Berry’s death, tributes have poured in honoring him as the “Father of Rock and Roll.” But few mention a lawsuit involving Berry’s longtime piano player Johnnie Johnson, who claimed he was Berry’s co-writer. Elon University fellow Tim McFarlin heard about the lawsuit and got access to the case file, which had been gathering dust in storage. [Here’s what he found](. Maggie Villiger Senior Editor, Science + Technology Top Story When a player’s on fire, is it hot hands? Basketball image via www.shutterstock.com. [Momentum isn't magic – vindicating the hot hand with the mathematics of streaks]( Joshua Miller, Bocconi University; Adam Sanjurjo, Universidad de Alicante For 30 years, sports fans have been told to forget about streaks because the 'hot hand' is a fallacy. 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