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Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Virtue signalling in the age of Trump
As libertarians, we have always supported open borders as a matter of principle, but we are somewhat amused though not surprised by all the virtue signalling and moral grandstanding being displayed by our academic colleagues against Trump’s new immigration policy. … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Ethics, Law
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Justice Gorsuch?
No, this is not the name of some fictional judge from the Star Wars expanded universe. Instead, it is one of the candidates on President Trump’s short list of potential nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court. In particular, our colleagues … Continue reading
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Class No. 3 (Due Process and the Burden of Proof)
In our previous class, we discussed the law and ethics of Facemash, a short-lived website Mark Zuckerberg created in the fall of ’03—a few months before he launched the beta version of Facebook. This week, we will re-enact Zuckerberg’s “Ad … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Ethics, Law
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Featured Syllabus: Calling Bullshit in the Age of Big Data
This course is being taught by professors Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin West. Here is a link to their syllabus, which itself has links to all the assigned readings. (Props to Jason Kottke for the pointer.) Update (1/26): Here is another promising syllabus–an upper-level … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Bayesian Reasoning
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The Ethics of Facebook Live
What legal or ethical obligations, if any, do social media companies like Facebook owe to the public at large? Last year, for example, at least 57 violent or illegal acts—including shootings, burglaries, and beatings—were transmitted via live-video platforms like Facebook Live. According to Mary Anne Franks, a law … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Ethics, Law, Web/Tech
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Why is guac extra at Chipotle?
At some restaurants (like Qdoba), a side of guacamole is included in the price of your burrito, while at other places (Chipotle), the guac is extra. Not surprisingly, the cost of a burrito is about $1 more at Qdoba than … Continue reading
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Real life prisoner’s dilemma (game show edition)
Notice how both contestants solemnly promise to each other not to steal. Notice too how they provide compelling reasons in support of their promises. (Hat tip: Mike Munger.)
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Visualizing the syllabus
Why are most college syllabi such drab and dreary affairs? By contrast, Chia-Hua Lin, a PhD student in philosophy at the University of South Carolina, has created a beautiful visual syllabus (see below) for her applied ethics course on “Genetic … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Philosophy
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prior probability 