We interrupt our sporadic Internet sabbatical with the following update: Forget the overhyped (and totally overrated) Star Wars franchise, because we just discovered that Blade Runner is coming back to the big screen. The “original” Blade Runner is one of our favorite films of all time (we put the word original in scare quotes because there are several different versions of the original movie), so we can’t wait for the sequel.
Update (1/22/17): check out this touching tribute to Schelling by Glenn Loury. (Hat tip: Garrett Jones, via Twitter.)
We have been trying to stay away from the Internet during our “Christmas sabbatical” to spend more time with our family, attend to grading duties, and read Roy Sorensen’s beautiful book on thought experiments, but we just discovered that the author of The Strategy of Conflict and self-described “errant economist” Thomas Schelling (pictured below) died a few days ago. Because Professor Schelling had such a great influence on us (he was one of our intellectual heroes), we are interrupting our Internet sabbatical to describe his impact on our approach to law and life. In particular, here is an abridged excerpt (without footnotes) from an essay we published in 2015: Continue reading
It’s that time of year again: it’s time for us to get off the Internet to spend more time with our family and friends, so we are taking a sabbatical from blogging during the holiday season. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Credit: xkcd.com
Image credit: northlandia.wordpress.com
What’s up, doc? As you may be aware of, a growing number of establishments are beginning to flat out ban the practice of tipping. But what if, instead of abolishing tipping, patrons had the option ex ante of giving a “negative tip.” In other words, why is the practice of tipping an asymmetrical one? By way of example, let’s say the standard tip (or “service charge”) for good service at Restaurant A is 20%. Then, in the alternative, why can’t customers deduct up to 20% of their bill for bad service? (It turns out, by the way, that we are not the first to propose this. See this and this.)
Credit: retailhellunderground.com
Check out this fun blog post by math wizard Ben Orlin, who calculates the total number of gifts in “The 12 Days of Christmas.” In the words of Mr Orlin, “The song invited a lot of questions, but one in particular leapt out to the mathematical mind …: How many gifts, in all, did my true love give to me?” (Tip of our hat to fellow math lover Cliff Pickover.)
Credit: Ben Orlin
What is “law”? In a forthcoming essay, Brian Leiter provides an excellent summary of H.L.A. Hart’s influential legal positivist theory of law. (The cover of his classic tome, “The Concept of Law”, is pictured below.) In particular, Professor Leiter, who teaches legal philosophy at the University of Chicago, claims that Hart’s account of legal positivism has three advantages over competing theories: (1) Hart’s theory provides a common sense or plausible account of the ordinary man’s understanding of law, (2) it can be tested empirically, and (3) it is parsimonious. Let’s examine each of these claims in turn: Continue reading
Welcome to the online home of the IASS
Hopefully It’s Interesting.
In Conversation with Legal and Moral Philosophers
dr hab. prof. UJ, Jagiellonian University
Books, papers, and other jurisprudential things
Ramblings of a retiree in France
BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
Natalia's space
hoping we know we're living the dream
Lover of math. Bad at drawing.
We hike, bike, and discover Central Florida and beyond
Making it big in business after age 40
Reasoning about reasoning, mathematically.
I don't mean to sound critical, but I am; so that's how it comes across
remember the good old days...
"Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences." - Sylvia Plath
a personal view of the theory of computation
Logic at Columbia University
Just like the Thesis Whisperer - but with more money
the sky is no longer the limit
Technology, Culture, and Ethics
Just like the horse whisperer - but with more pages
Poetry, Other Words, and Cats
