Category Archives: Uncategorized

More details about the subject of this fascinating documentary are available here (h/t: @pickover).

Why do we have to show a photo ID to board a domestic flight? Air genius Gary Leff explains here and here why we are required to “show our papers” at our Soviet-style airport security checkpoints and why this requirement … Continue reading →

Are there too many human rights? If so, what is the “optimal level” of such basic rights? Specifically, aside from life, property, and due process of law, what other rights are so essential to human flourishing that they should be … Continue reading →

You may have heard that a state judge in Oklahoma found Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries legally liable for their role in Oklahoma’s so-called “opioid crisis.” In brief, the case against Johnson & Johnson was brought by the Attorney … Continue reading →

That is the title of this paper by Michael Makowsky, Thomas Stratmann, and Alex Tabarrok, who present a stinging critique of “revenue-driven law enforcement,” i.e. police departments acting as stealth tax collectors for local governments. Below is a listing of … Continue reading →

According this chart, there were only 130 websites in 1993, the year I graduated from law school. Today, 26 years later, there are over 1.7 billion websites! (Query: does this astronomical number include the “deep web”?) As a result, given … Continue reading →

For my 51st birthday (25 August), I invite you–family, friends, or students–to take the fun, five-minute Lego train ride posted above; it’s the music video for Anna Meredith’s latest composition “Paramour.” More details here. Hat tip: @kottke.

How do you create a biased coin? With pliers! Via Mike Izbicki, who teaches mathematics at Claremont McKenna College (CMC), coin “0” pictured above is unbiased, but coins 1 through 6 were bent to various degrees using a pair of … Continue reading →