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Category Archives: Lotteries
How couples meet
Or, to be more precise, how couples who publish their wedding announcements in the New York Times meet. Data scientist Todd W. Schneider built a special-purpose website called Wedding Crunchers that analyzes wedding announcements published in the Sunday Times. His data … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Games, Lotteries, Probability
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Powerball is a scam
Critical thinking question: If lotteries weren’t a State-run monopoly, would such scams have been shut down long ago under State and federal consumer protection laws? (Mathematical table above via Business Insider.)
Posted in Lotteries, Probability
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Reverse legal lotteries
The increasing problem of overcriminalization (of private citizens and businesses, that is — policemen and regulators almost always get a free pass) has been noted before. In summary, overcriminalization threatens our economic liberties and undermines the rule of law. Matt Kaiser, moreover, describes … Continue reading
Legislative lotteries?
Did you know the U.S. House of Representatives uses a lottery to allocate office space to its new members? Why doesn’t the Congress use a lottery system for budget appropriations as well? By way of example, why not (a) set … Continue reading
Should we pay people to vote?
According to this recent report by David Zahniser of the L.A. Times, only 23% percent of registered voters ended up casting ballots in last year’s mayoral election. To remedy this raging epidemic of voter apathy, the Los Angeles County Ethics Commission (!) … Continue reading
prior probability 