In praise of … drawing lots (in The Guardian UK)

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Conall Boyle

In praise of … drawing lots

Experts say that a legislature drawn from the people at random would be more representative, especially of minority communities

Forget campaigns that cost $5.8bn, and which ignore voters outside swing states and seek to reduce their number within them. None of those issues troubled the process by which Egypt’s 10 million Copts chose a new pope. First, over 2,000 clergymen and laymen shortlisted three candidates. Next, a blindfolded boy, himself chosen by lottery, picked out a plastic ball containing one of the three names, the idea being that his right hand doubles as the hand of God. Thus was Pope Tawadros II chosen. Experts say that a legislature drawn from the people at random would be more representative, especially of minority communities. Think it couldn’t happen here? Jury selection shows we are already happy to leave some crucial appointments to chance. And in May, in Runnymede’s Chertsey South and Rowtown ward, the Tory and the independent tied at 503 votes apiece. How was this democratic deadlock broken? By drawing lots, of course.

Filed under: Elections, Press, Religion, Sortition | 5 Comments »

Sanitization, Arrationality or should it be called Super-Humanity?

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Conall Boyle

Describing what a lottery can contribute to the process of choosing.

Sanitization, Arrationality or should it be called Super-Humanity?

Whatever it is used for, a lottery does something for the process.  Sanitizing  is Stone’s description; Arrationality is Dowlen’s.

I do not disagree with either definition, but feel that both are a bit lacking.

Sanitization implies a clean-up, removal of contaminating elements, but leaves open the question: Cleansed of what?

Arrationality, besides being a neologism, hence not easily understood, might also even be taken to mean some kind of crazy departure which abandons the only human attribute that truly sets us above the animals – the ability to use our brains to think about things.

So either incomplete or liable to be mis-understood; can I come up with something better?
Continue reading →

Filed under: Distribution by lot, Religion, Theory | 15 Comments »

Randomness vs. Stupidity

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Conall Boyle

Randomness vs. Stupidity is the eye-catching front cover of the latest issue of Improbable Research.

These guys have form, having picked our Sicilian friends, Pluchino et al. for their ‘IgNobel Prize’ in 2010. It was they who suggested, using maths, that we’d be no worse off using randomness to pick politicians and employees. (Earlier entries on this topic have already appeared here in equality-by-lot.)

As well as this issue devoted to this topic, the Editor, Marc Abrahams, has a 2-page spread in the London Observer, (which you can read at http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/aug/19/most-improbable-scientific-research-abrahams).

In the article, Abrahams refers to an old-ish paper by Phelan (2000) which seems to support the idea of random promotion: “random promotion systems (supposedly a baseline condition) outperformed up-or-out and relative merit-based systems …”.

I am greatly encouraged that my hobby-horse of lotteries for hiring, firing and promoting employees is supported by these studies, and that they are getting a widespread airing in mainstream media.

Now, is there anyone else who might be interested in studying ‘Lotteries for Jobs’?

Filed under: Distribution by lot, Employment | 2 Comments »

Pot-Shop Lot in Arizona

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Conall Boyle

Arizona to operate medical marijuana dispensaries, including one in Sun City West.

The random selection process culled 404 applicants who were in competitive bids to get licensed in 68 of the state’s “community health analysis areas.” Slots for another 29 areas drew only one applicant each.

You can find out more about this fun-lottery at:
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/suncitywest/article_fb6529b8-e0fd-11e1-ac8f-001a4bcf887a.html

Filed under: Distribution by lot | Leave a comment »

Are Sortitionists sincere?

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Conall Boyle

Do sortitionists really believe their own rhetoric? A Citizen’s Jury will be called using the method of random selection. They then proceed to chew over the issue at hand, and normally decide by voting!

What’s the matter with these guys? Surely the matter should be resolved, either by Unanimity, or failing that by a lottery, weighted by the votes of the CJ?

I was inspired to pose this question after reading a piece about the rise of Majority Voting which is mostly about French and Catholic Church experiences.

The Anglo-juridical Jury (12 citizens drawn at random) used to require unanimity, and still needs 10/12 to convict. Who so?

Filed under: Juries, Religion, Sortition | 20 Comments »

Eygyptian Christians to choose Pope by lot

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Conall Boyle

In a report in today’s (London) Independent:

Pope Shenouda, 88, [who has just died] was famous as a cautious Coptic leader, all-powerful within his community, who for four decades had dealt with the Egyptian government. … His successor, to be chosen by a synod of bishops, is unlikely to exercise the same authority in defence of Egypt’s embattled Christian minority. The bishops will choose three candidates, whose names are written on pieces of paper and placed in a box. The final choice is made by a blindfolded boy, who picks one of the names.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Religion | Tagged: | 9 Comments »

Plutonomy — how the 1% has hijacked democracy

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Conall Boyle

An excellent paper on the tricks the richest 1% have played to turn our political democracy of ‘one person one vote’ into financial despotism:

http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue59/Fullbrook59.pdf

It’s a gripping read. So is Sortition the answer? If so, why?

Filed under: Elections, Sortition | Tagged: | 12 Comments »

A good link on new ideas for ‘democracy’

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Conall Boyle

Apologies if this has appeared before, but there is a very good article from a French site about new ideas for Democracy, including some we would recognise here

http://www.booksandideas.net/Democracy-Bridging-the.html?lang=fr

Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Humiliated? When lotteries go wrong.

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Conall Boyle

We have already seen one major catastrophe in 2011 with a lottery allocation procedure, when the ‘Green Card’ went wrong. There were a reported 22,000 people world-wide who thought that they had won, and were then told that they hadn’t.

How did these lottery-losers feel? ‘Humiliated’ according to a paper by two kleroterians Jon Dolle and Anne Newman.

Badly-run lotteries leave the participants, and even the winners, feeling humiliated. Even a properly-run lottery may leave both winners and losers feeling bad, if there is not complete transparency about the randomisation mechanisms used. Continue reading →

Filed under: Distribution by lot, Press | 1 Comment »

French Revolution – Sortition adopted in 2012

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Conall Boyle

This is a fantasy by Yves Sintomer (in French). The Introduction goes as follows (my translation):

Dateline: 2112

To celebrate the centenary of the 6th Republic in 2012, whose creation was due to the introduction of Sortition in the french political procedures, the Minister for Citizenship has asked,  for the benefit of the younger generations, that a group of historians to re-visit this decisive turning point.

Filed under: Fiction, Sortition | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »