Category Archives: Current Affairs

The problem of reclining airplane seats

Posted on October 7, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

We forwarded our 3 October blog post “The Right to Recline?” to several scholars, including our gentle friends Terry Anderson, Christopher Buccafusco, and Chris Sprigman. (By the way, Professors Buccafusco and Sprigman, in particular, had previously published this thoughtful essay on airplane seat reclining.) In summary, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Economics, Property Rights | Tagged Airplane Seats, Cattle Trespass, Coase Theorem, Ronald Coase | 2 Comments

Who pays?

Posted on September 25, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is Wal-Mart legally liable for the wrongful death of John Crawford III? The victim was carrying an air rifle sold at the store.

Posted in Current Affairs, Law | Tagged Third-Party Liability, Wal-Mart | Leave a comment

Fair or foul?

Posted on September 19, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Was the Facebook mood experiment “fair” or “foul” from an ethical perspective? Is it even possible for ethics to produce a determinate or “right” answer to this question? Several armchair philosophers, for example, have concluded that Facebook’s recent study of user behavior is … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Ethics, Philosophy, Science, Web/Tech | Tagged Experiments, Facebook, Michelle Meyer, Research Ethics | Leave a comment

Questions for Roger Goodell

Posted on September 18, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Where are you hiding? (Your last tweet was two weeks ago; see below.) Have you replied yet to this letter dated Sept. 10 from several members of Congress? Also, what are you waiting for in the Adrian Peterson case? A video? I had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Deception, Sports | Tagged Adrian Peterson, House Judiciary Committee, NFL, Roger Goodell | 3 Comments

“The moral tragedy of Scottish independence”

Posted on September 17, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

That is the melodramatic title of this short essay by Emile Simpson, an English scholar and former British infantry officer. (Thanks to Tyler Cowen for the pointer.) Although we are not certain when a tragedy becomes a “moral tragedy,” Simpson’s paper is worth reading because he … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Current Affairs, Deception, Politics, Rules, Voting | Tagged Scottish independence referendum | Leave a comment

Forget 9/11?

Posted on September 11, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Originally posted on prior probability:
This week marks the 12th anniversary of the terrible events that took place on the morning of 11 Sept. 2001 in the United States … and the 40th anniversary of the terrible events of 11…

Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Current Affairs | 1 Comment

In defense of Ray Rice’s legal rights

Posted on September 9, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

We offer the following three-part commentary in response to the Ray Rice witch-hunt: 1. Self-righteous TV news anchors and the news media generally have now milked the unfortunate Ray Rice affair for all it’s worth by airing the infamous elevator surveillance video countless times. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Law, Sports | Tagged Ray Rice, Witch Hunts | 4 Comments

Scottish non-independence prediction markets

Posted on September 8, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Scotland about 50% support for independence, but markets still only about 25% that it actually passes in 2 weeks: http://t.co/rm2GgyPurz — David Rothschild 🌻 (@DavMicRot) September 7, 2014 The Scottish Independence Referendum is scheduled to take place on 18 September 2014. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Current Affairs, Politics, Voting | Tagged Prediction Markets | Leave a comment

Self-defense?

Posted on August 27, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

How many civilians, on average, do police forces in the United States kill each year? Legal scholar Richard Epstein, however, asks a different lethal-force question: Police officer deaths in the line of duty, year to date for 2014, were 67 of which … Continue reading →