Cooperation often occurs in the most unexpected places. Check out this original research paper — “The structure of a bottlenose dolphin society is coupled to a unique foraging cooperation with artisanal fisherman” — by , , , , and
Social network of dolphins
Did you know the U.S. House of Representatives uses a lottery to allocate office space to its new members? Why doesn’t the Congress use a lottery system for budget appropriations as well? By way of example, why not (a) set aside a fixed amount of revenues for such things as defense, agricultural subsidies, or social-welfare spending and then (b) allocate monies to specific programs within each category through a lottery? If properly designed, a lottery system of budget appropriations, by inserting a high degree of randomness into the process, could reduce the overall level of legislative rent-seeking behavior.
Thanks to Jody Sieradzki for creating this informative map.
Why not? Brock Cusick‘s eloquent essay “Here’s an idea better than net neutrality” is by far the best thing we have read on this well-worn subject in some time. Spoiler alert: Mr Cusick recommends a market approach to Internet service. (Hat tip to the amazing Tyler Cowen for the pointer; image below courtesy of the Pew Center.)
Thanks to Andrew Mearns for creating this awesome table.
Round 9 of the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand ended in a draw after just 20 moves. Note Anand’s 12th move in this game. Addendum (Nov. 22): Game 10 also ended in another draw.
Jane Hu explains in this excellent essay why so-called “scientific jury selection” is not really scientific. But her essay misses the most compelling reason why trial consultants are basically high-priced charlatans: there is no way testing or falsifying their predictions! Karl Popper, anyone?
A public interest group based in Las Vegas — the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage — recently filed a petition alleging the non-random assignment of judges in a subset of same-sex marriage cases decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. (In federal cases, appeals on the merits are decided by three-judge panels and judges are supposed to be assigned randomly to these panels.) When we first heard of these allegations, we were intrigued by the possibility of “panel packing” or non-randomness in the assignment of judges, since we suspect that the assignment of judges to high-profile cases is anything but random. But, a few days ago, when we finally read the statistical study on which these allegations are based, we detected a possible reference class problem. (For the record, the report was prepared by Dr James H. Matis, a retired statistics professor.)
Check out this fun Freakonomics podcast featuring economists Steve Horwitz and Glen Whitman as well as yours truly, and while you’re at it, why not check out the Economics of the Undead blog too?
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
