Category Archives: Uncategorized

Bayesian voting is subjective; so what?

We continue our discussion of “bayesian voting” in this blog post. Previously, we conceded that bayesian voting is more complicated than simple majority voting (one-judge, one-vote), but we went on to argue that bayesian voting would be easy to operationalize … Continue reading →

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Review of Oman, The Dignity of Commerce (2017)

We are taking a break from bayesian voting (see our last few blog posts) to share with our loyal followers our review of Nathan Oman’s book The Dignity of Commerce: Markets and the Moral Foundations of Contract Law (University of … Continue reading →

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Digression: Netflix’s binary voting system

We have been blogging a lot about “bayesian voting” lately. In our previous post, however, we mentioned as an aside Netflix’s decision to replace its five-star cardinal voting system with a more simple binary system: thumbs up or thumbs down. … Continue reading →

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Bayesian voting is easy

In this blog post, I will address the practicality objection to bayesian voting by judges. First, I concede that, in the judicial context, cardinal or utilitarian methods of voting–like my method of bayesian voting–are marginally more costly and cumbersome than … Continue reading →

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Three objections to bayesian voting

Thus far, we have identified a voting paradox in law and proposed a system of “bayesian voting” by judges in multi-member panels. There are, however, at least three major objections to my proposed system of bayesian voting: 1. Practicality (operational … Continue reading →

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Bayesian Voting (Part 3)

In our 7/17 blog post, we described a voting paradox in law and presented a simple model of bayesian voting, and in our 7/18 blog post, we showed how bayesian voting might work in practice. In that post, however, we assumed … Continue reading →

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The first 200 days …

July 19 is the 200th day of the year, so we interrupt our series of blog posts on Bayesian voting to wish our loyal followers good tidings. What will the next 100 days bring? In the meantime, enjoy …

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Bayesian Voting (Part 2)

In my previous blog post, I showed how the outcome of an appeal can depend on the type of voting rule appellate courts use to decide cases, and I mentioned a possible solution to this paradox: bayesian voting. In brief, … Continue reading →

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Bayesian Voting (Part I)

Imagine a case or controversy C presenting two separate legal issues: standing and sovereign immunity. Specifically, (1) does plaintiff P have standing to sue, and (2) is defendant D (a governmental entity) entitled to assert the defense of sovereign immunity, … Continue reading →

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Homemade circular rainbow

Instructions, via Dexter See: “Form a circle with Skittles on a plate (colours should be in repeated order, preferably according to colours of the rainbow e.g. purple, green, yellow, orange, red), then pour hot water over them.” (Hat tip: The … Continue reading →

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