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Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Why are prediction markets illegal?
Because regulators — the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in particular, which has the legal authority to regulate commodity markets — have declared prediction markets to be “contrary to the public interest”. But if the “public interest” is the … Continue reading
“A bet is a tax on bullshit”
Or so says Alex Tabarrok, an economics professor at George Mason University and one of our intellectual role models. (We are revisiting Alex’s previous post on bets and beliefs, given that earlier this week we offered to bet on the … Continue reading
Hobby Lobby Case, Part 2
Yesterday, Professor Scott Gaylord and I discussed the religious rights of closely-held corporations under the religion clauses of the First Amendment, one of the main legal issues in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., an important constitutional case which will be argued … Continue reading
Hobby Lobby Case
All are invited to attend the Fourth Annual Professors Debate at the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando, Florida from 4:45 to 6 pm in Room ALC 203. Professor Scott Gaylord, Jennings Professor and Emerging Scholar at Elon … Continue reading
The most dangerous road in the world
According to this report in the Sunday Times, it’s Highway 1 in Afghanistan. Here is an excerpt from the Times’ report: After spending billions of dollars upgrading and repaving Highway 1, the [US-led] military coalition is now leaving its protection … Continue reading
What is the optimal speed limit on toll roads?
Is it 80 mph? 90? 100? You tell me …
More evidence that Facebook is lame
Facebook is introducing more choices for gender identification — 56 choices in all (is that too many choices … or too few?) — but after all is said and done, there is still only one level of “friend” …
A map of the largest moon in our solar system
Adam Clarke Estes has posted on Gizmodo this interactive map of Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons, which also happens to be the largest moon in our corner of the universe. Ganymede is an extra special Jovian satellite because it has an underground ocean … Continue reading
“What if we got rid of likes?”
That is the title of this provocative essay by PJ Vogt. Even WordPress, the sponsor of this blog, has a like button (see below). But “likes” are lame, right? So, why don’t we get rid of them? Here’s why, according to … Continue reading
Pascal’s Wager 101
Did you know that Blaise Pascal’s most important contribution to the theory of probability is the notion of expectation value? Briefly, the expected value of any given wager is the value of the prize multiplied by the probability of winning … Continue reading
prior probability 