Donald
Saari, Northwestern Universit
12:30p.m. Friday March 31, 2000, Smith Hall
It is an election year in the US, the state of Illinois, and the math department. But do the outcomes really reflect what the voters desire, or do they reflect the choice of election procedure? The answer, which is obtained by investigating the mathematical symmetries of the problem, are very troubling for democracies. In fact, they suggest that (and how) a chair can "manipulate" the outcome by selecting an "appropriate" election procedure. On the other hand, at some time each of us also has been guilty of trying to manipulate the election outcome by voting strategically. It is shown how to use mathematical structure to identify all possible manipulative structures.
Additional informatation possibly related to this talk may be found on Prof. Saari's Personal Homepage.
Ben Fitzpatrick,
the Legacy of R.L. Moore Project
ISMAA Annual Banquet, Friday March 31, 2000, White Activities Center
The The Students of R.L. Moore: Preliminary Report from the Legacy of R.L. Moore Project may contain information related to this talk.
March 2, 2000