Creative Commons
Blogs I Follow
Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Is Judge Judy a fraud?
She is the highest paid “judge” in the world. In reality, she’s a private arbitrator who pretends to be a real judge on her famous court TV show, but that is not why she might be a fraud, at least … Continue reading
Posted in Deception, Ethics, Law
5 Comments
Prime number update
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. The number 3, for example, is a prime number. Now the update: The Great Internet Mersenne Prime … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics
Leave a comment
Is Senator Cruz a “natural born citizen”?
(P1) Major premise: Article II of the U.S. Constitution categorically states: “No person except a natural born citizen … shall be eligible to the office of President” (emphasis added). This proposition is thus our “major premise” or general principle of … Continue reading
Posted in Current Affairs, Language, Law
1 Comment
Non-random coin toss?
How to not flip a coin What conditions must a coin toss satisfy in order for it to be truly “random,” and why isn’t this particular coin toss a “random” one … or is it? Perhaps another way of approaching … Continue reading
Posted in Current Affairs, Probability
Leave a comment
Tinder trailer
Questions about Tinder: How does the “Super Like” function described in the video above overcome or solve the problem of cheap talk or false signals? Also, does Tinder improve or reduce the overall level of “welfare” or “utility”–as economists define … Continue reading
Posted in Cheating, Cooperation, Culture, Current Affairs
Leave a comment
Review of Trivers (2016)
We’ve just finished reading Robert Trivers’s strange memoir “Wild Life: Adventures of an Evolutionary Biologist.” But before proceeding with our short review, we must disclose up front that Dr Trivers is one of our intellectual heroes–along with Thomas Schelling, Gordon … Continue reading
Posted in Law, Science
2 Comments
Lesson 0 (law & ethics)
This semester, we are teaching a large undergraduate course (as well as an honors section) on “the legal and ethical environment of business.” Specifically, we are using the founding of Facebook–as depicted in the book “The Accidental Billionaires” and in … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Law
5 Comments
What is art? (Ptolemaic edition)
We recently visited the Tampa Museum of Art with our eldest (Adela) and youngest (Adys) daughters. This Ptolemaic piece was our favorite work of art from the museum’s modest collection, but what makes any given object a “work of … Continue reading
Posted in Art, History
Leave a comment
Mind game …
… or the illusion of motion (via Cliff Pickover)
Posted in Art, Paradoxes
Leave a comment
prior probability 