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Category Archives: Questions Rarely Asked
#TrumpYourHand
How small are The Donald’s hands? It turns out that Mr Trump’s hands are smaller than average. Now, via the Hollywood Reporter, you can find out how you measure up to Mr Trump. (For your ready reference, here is a … Continue reading
What is the optimal level of liberty?
Our friend and colleague Alex Tabarrok recently wrote this depressing blog post reporting that “freedom in the world is in decline.” But how does one even begin to measure something like “freedom,” and even if one could measure such a … Continue reading
Posted in Questions Rarely Asked, Uncategorized
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Blade Runner forever
We are big fans of the movie Blade Runner. We even co-authored a scholarly paper titled “Clones and the Coase Theorem” in which we explore the problem of time-scarcity (the limited lifespans of the replicants in Blade Runner) in light … Continue reading
Is an immoral promise a paradox or a contradiction?
Have you ever made an “immoral promise,” i.e. have you ever promised to do something wrongful, like tell a lie or steal? (By the way, how does one decide when something is wrongful?) Is such a promise even logically possible; … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Paradoxes, Philosophy, Questions Rarely Asked
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The Seven States of America?
What if we just abolished the 50 States or replaced them with seven mega-regions or provinces? (See below for a hypothetical example of what such a proposal might look like on a map.) After all, our northern neighbors in Canada have only 10 … Continue reading
Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, History, Maps, Questions Rarely Asked
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Is Puerto Rico underpopulated?
Here is a real-time example of people “voting with their feet.” We lived in Puerto Rico from 1993 and 2009, and we can tell you that Puerto Ricans are severely overtaxed by their government, regardless of which political party is … Continue reading
Credible Commitment?
What a great time to be alive, especially if you are consultant, what with so many philanthropic foundations to choose from … Our friend Mark Zuckerberg recently pledged–via a lengthy public letter ostensibly addressed to his newborn daughter–to donate 99% … Continue reading
Posted in Law, Questions Rarely Asked
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Locks 101
Credit for this animation goes to Stian Berg Larsen. More here.
Posted in Questions Rarely Asked
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Reimagining Manhattan
Via The Decolonial Atlas.
prior probability 