Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium

 Title: Life isn't Fair: A Mathematical Argument in Favor of Benevolent Dictatorships Speaker: Cayley Rice Assistant Professor Mathematics and Computer Science Albion College Albion, Michigan, USA Abstract: Arrow's theorem, proved in the '50s, suggests that under very reasonable restrictions, the only sensible method of societal decision making is dictatorial. In this talk we'll explore a few different models of voting, how theoretical math can be applied to models of voting, and just how un-sensible voting models can get. A part of the talk will develop notation to discuss voting scenarios in mathematical notation. We'll see how the language of abstract mathematics can be deftly applied to problems like this and, while the notation may be quite complicated, the subsequent mathematics is often already understood. This talk is in recognition of Math Awareness Month (as determined by the AMS, MAA, and SIAM to be April), whose theme this year is math and voting. Location: Palenske 227 Date: 4/17/2008 Time: 3:10 PM

@abstract{MCS:Colloquium:CayleyRice:2008:4:17,
author  = "{Cayley Rice}",
title   = "{Life isn't Fair: A Mathematical Argument in Favor of Benevolent Dictatorships}",
address = "{Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium}",
month   = "{17 April}",
year    = "{2008}"
}