Ranked Choice and Approval Voting have emerged as the two leading alternative voting systems being advocated in the U.S. I've looked a bit at how Ranked Choice might perform, particularly in a polarized political climate, and found that, though it usually is better at picking broadly agreeable candidates than the Plurality system used in most… Continue reading How Approving should Approval Voting Voters Be?
The Most Heliocentric Teams in the NBA
image from soaringdownsouth.com Just as in our heliocentric solar system many small planets orbit a much larger sun, heliocentric NBA offenses feature several role players orbiting around one (or two) stars. Think four shooters zipping around the court while Luka Doncic isolates or Trae Young determining the fate of almost every Hawks' possession. A lot… Continue reading The Most Heliocentric Teams in the NBA
Making the playoffs is easier in the East. Would that have helped the Kings avoid a record playoff drought?
Despite more than half of NBA teams making the playoffs each year, the Sacramento Kings have not made the playoffs since 2006, tying the LA Clippers' Extremely Racist Owner Era for the longest playoff drought in league history. As of early March, the Kings look likely to take sole ownership of the NBA's playoff drought… Continue reading Making the playoffs is easier in the East. Would that have helped the Kings avoid a record playoff drought?
The Warriors are in Their Own Universe at Scoring Off of Assists
As of December 9, the Warriors lead the NBA in assists with 28.7 per game, a mere .8 ahead of the second place Spurs. But the raw assists per game numbers do not come close to conveying how much the Warriors are lapping the rest of the NBA at scoring off of passes. The Warriors'… Continue reading The Warriors are in Their Own Universe at Scoring Off of Assists
Were the Tallest Presidents the Best?
Prompted by this musing on Twitter that Presidential height and quality are correlated, I decided to figure out whether this is true. Some of our most admired Presidents (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson) were known for being tall, so this feels like it might be true. But is it? To measure which Presidents were the best, I… Continue reading Were the Tallest Presidents the Best?
The History of Pokemon Type Balance, According to Game Theory
I've already looked at the best Pokemon types according to game theory, but when doing so, I only looked at the modern type balance, which began when the Fairy type was introduced in 2013. But, if you're an aging Pokemon fan (i.e. a Millenial) like myself, this is not the Pokemon type balance you grew… Continue reading The History of Pokemon Type Balance, According to Game Theory
Borda Count Doesn’t Have to Care whether You Complete Your Ballot
Can we make Borda Count resilient against strategic voting? Yes. Let's see how it works.
Which Voting System Could be Best for Our Polarized Politics?
What voting system should we turn to in this partisan moment? The answer might depend on what we want our elections to do.
NBA Player Salary Converter
How does Kobe Bryant's $30.5 million salary in 2014, Michael Jordan's $33.1 million salary in 1998, or Allan Houston's $19.1 million salary in 2006 compare to NBA salaries today? This little tool lets you convert a past NBA player's salary to a current equivalent or a current NBA player's salary to a roughly equivalent salary… Continue reading NBA Player Salary Converter
Voting on Who Gets the Ventilator
The Situation: Limited Resources There is only one ventilator -- or liver, or hospital bed, or any other potentially life-saving resource -- at your hospital, but many people need it and are eligible for it. You are part of a group that must decide who gets the ventilator. You all agree about what kinds of… Continue reading Voting on Who Gets the Ventilator