Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium



Title:Life Isn't Fair: Social Choice Theory and Arrow's Theorem
Speaker:Cayley Pendergrass
Doctoral Candidate
Department Mathematics
University of California - San Diego

Abstract:Kenneth Arrow proved in 1950 that, given a precise notion of reasonable, the only reasonable social choice function is dictatorship. As this is unsatisfying, recent work has begun to analyze which alternative voting scheme is best. This talk will discuss Arrow's theorem, what "best" might mean for a social choice procedure, and a geometric analysis of one particular family of social choice procedures.

The talk will be accessible to anyone comfortable with (high school) algebra, basic properties of triangles, and logical reasoning.

Location:Palenske 227
Date:3/28/2006
Time:4:10 PM



@abstract{MCS:Colloquium:CayleyPendergrass
DoctoralCandidate
DepartmentMathematics
UniversityofCalifornia-SanDiego:2006:3:28, author = "{Cayley Pendergrass
Doctoral Candidate
Department Mathematics
University of California - San Diego}", title = "{Life Isn't Fair: Social Choice Theory and Arrow's Theorem}", address = "{Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium}", month = "{28 March}", year = "{2006}" }