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Asked who won the Winter Olympics, we probably would name the country with the most gold medals. Then, with 18 gold, Norway was #1 and the U.S. #2 at 12.
However, there are other possibilities.
Olympic Winners
To name the top country, typically, we count gold medals, silver and bronze. Usually, except duing 1896, 1912, and 1964, the nations with the most medals also had more gold than anyone else. But alternatively, they could add up different point totals to gold, silver, and bronze.
Totally differently, instead of one medal per team, the count could be the individuals, each with a medal adding to the total. Or, benefiting less affluent nations, per capita GDP could matter with GDP your denominator and the number of medals the numerator. Maybe even, the Jamaica bobsledding team’s scores should have included the challenges faced by a Caribbean island competitor.
Below, when snow counts more, Norway dominates but not if it’s ice. (Colored circles are for gold, silver, and bronze):
We also could pay more attention to population or gender.
Our point? Ranking is arbitrary. It just depends on what you value.
Our Bottom Line: We Treasure What We Measure
Indeed, ranking Olympic winners, economies, or schools depends on our criteria. According to Malcolm Gladwell, it’s those criteria that we should question.
And yet, when we track our progress or setbacks, we pay attention to the ranks those criteria create. Consequently, monitoring our GDP growth, unemployment, price stability, calories, cholesterol, vacation days, or high school grades, we try to make them better.
So yes, knowing we “treasure what we measure,” we can return to Olympic winners. Who we call the winners depends on what we decide to measure.
My sources and more: Thanks to the NY Times, here and here, for quantifying the different methods. Then, for one story, we looked at Jamaica. However, this article had the best discussion of medal alternatives. And finally, although the Gladwell New Yorker article is from 2011, it is still valid.
