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Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
We want one of these!
Check out this short video featuring an assortment of volocopters or lightweight personal helicopters designed and manufactured by the German firm e-volo. Forget drones; we’d rather have our own personal “VC 200” to travel around our home state (Florida). Wow, … Continue reading
Posted in Science Fiction, Web/Tech
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When moral and legal principles collide …
Economist extraordinaire Tyler Cowen poses the following thought-provoking question via Twitter: “Are your views on privacy and #PanamaPapers consistent? Just asking …” In other words, when two great moral or legal principles are in conflict with each other — such … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Law
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Our favorite research poster
We have been celebrating Research Week at our home institution, the University of Central Florida (UCF). Our Research Week culminated today with the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, featuring over 300 student poster presentations, representing over 50 majors. One of … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Art, Culture, Ethics, History, Philosophy
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“You better lawyer up …” (Litigation & ADR)
We’re almost done this semester! For Lessons 18 & 19, we will review the main stages of litigation, including the pleadings stage, discovery, and the decision whether to settle or go to trial. In other words, we will study how our legal system … Continue reading
Posted in Law
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Blueprints for “The Great Wall of Trump”
An engineer recently drew up a “quick design” (pictured below) of Donald Trump’s proposed USA-Mexico border wall. (You can read the full technical analysis of what it would take to build such a massive project here.) This particular design consists … Continue reading
Posted in Current Affairs, Economics, Law, Mathematics, Politics
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A question for Professors Fried & Shiffrin
Charles Fried is best known (among scholars of contract law) for his “contract as promise” thesis, while Seana Shiffrin is widely known for her influential 2007 Harvard Law Review article on the divergence between contract and promise. We too are … Continue reading
Posted in Cooperation, Law, Philosophy
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Why political pledges are generally worthless
Theory: Economists use the apt term “cheap talk” to refer to mere pledges or promises that are not backed up by credible threats. Generally speaking, a pledge, promise, or vow to do x is worthless when it is not backed up … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Law, Philosophy
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prior probability 