Weighted Medal Count, Explanation of Weighting
Gold medals are weighted by a factor of 6, silver medals by a factor of 3,
bronze medals by a factor of 2.
The reasoning is simple. One person has won a gold medal. Two people have
won at least silver, and three people have won at least bronze. The
weightings simply reflect these factors. Put another way, the "club" of people
as good as you, if you have won bronze, has three members. The club of people
as good as you, if you have won silver, has two members. The club of gold
has but one member. Thus bronze is 1/3 as exclusive as gold, and silver is
1/2 as exclusive as gold.
Note that this weighting system is
consistent with many golf tournament payouts, in which the 2nd place finisher
receives half the prize money of the champion and the 3rd place finisher
receives a third as much as the champion.
Wesley N. Colley...
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