So Silver's argument amounts to (1) faulting journalism for not being social science, and (2) engaging in faulty statistical thinking himself.

WSJ: Best of the Web Today: The Dog Whistler

Whether they are statistical flukes or just represent thinking outside the box, a few of these zany indicators have sometimes been just as reliable as a room full of high-paid security analysts.

FORBES: Forecasting The Market With Oddball Indicators