Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
In praise of chalk and blackboards
Check out this beautiful 26-page paper on “Chalk: Materials and Concepts in Mathematics Research” by Michael Barany and Donald MacKenzie. According to one of the authors of the chalk paper (Barany), one of the advantages of blackboards is that they … Continue reading
Kant on Evidence?
Nine years ago (2011), Chief Justice John Roberts (pictured below, left) presented this devastating critique of legal scholarship. Among other things, the Chief made this wisecrack: “Pick up a copy of any law review that you see, and the first … Continue reading
Bayesian Judges
That is the title of my most recent contribution to the literature on judicial voting, a literature that goes back to Frank Easterbrook’s excellent paper “Ways of criticizing the court,” which was published in The Harvard Law Review in 1982. … Continue reading
Here we go again (reclining airplane seat controversy edition)
Originally posted on prior probability:
The Washington Post (via Natalie B. Compton) recently published “The completely correct guide to reclining on an airplane.” The problem with The Post’s guidelines, however, is that they are not only incomplete (what about commuter…
Vicious circle or virtuous spiral? (law and morality feedback loop edition)
Building on the work of Donald Regan, law professor Bert Huang explores the complex relationship between law, ethics, and artificial intelligence in his beautiful paper “Law’s halo and the moral machine” (hat tip: @lsolum). Among other things, Professor Huang describes … Continue reading
Here we go again (reclining airplane seat controversy edition)
The Washington Post (via Natalie B. Compton) recently published “The completely correct guide to reclining on an airplane.” The problem with The Post’s guidelines, however, is that they are not only incomplete (what about commuter flights?); they are also inconsistent … Continue reading
What is the optimal number of email folders?
For me it’s three. In addition to my main inbox, which serves as a holding pen for my most pressing matters (i.e. messages that I must respond to before I go to bed), I make use of only three email … Continue reading
Dresden, 1945
Via Wikipedia (citations omitted): “In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs … Continue reading

