My symtab program was somewhat boring. I am working on another program now that should hopefully be more interesting. This is a simulation of voting systems, derived from the book: "Mathematics and Democracy" (Steven Brams). Brams is a long-time proponent of Approval Voting. This is a system where a voter can cast more than one vote (but only one vote per candidate). For example, a person who prefers the Democrat but would be okay with the Libertarian, can vote for both the Democrat and the Libertarian, but not the Republican (who he disapproves of). Similarly, a person who prefers the Republican but would be okay with the Libertarian, can vote for both the Republican and the Libertarian, but not the Democrat (who he disapproves of). Such a system would (hopefully) break the Democrat/Republican dichotomization that we have in America today. As it is, die-hard Democrats won't vote for a Libertarian because they believe (correctly) that they are "wasting" their vote, and that a vote cast for anybody other than the Democrat is effectively a vote for the Republican. Similarly, the Republicans also believe that the Libertarians are "stealing" the Republican votes and throwing the election to the Democrats, so they won't vote Libertarian either. This is why the Libertarians get about 1% of the vote, despite the fact that almost everybody in America would be comfortable with a Libertarian winning, even if this isn't their first choice.
I have heard that voting-system simulation programs have been written (I think in Common LISP), but I haven't been able to find them. Can any of you provide links to any such programs that have already been written? The system that we use here in America (one vote per citizen) is actually just one of several systems that have been suggested. It is called Preferential Voting and it is a bad system --- it tends to reward extremist candidates (left-wing or right-wing), and to punish moderates. Have any of you read Brams book mentioned above, or any other books on voting-system design? The book also discusses voting-systems that could be used for elections of several candidates (such as for membership in a ruling committee), and also fair division of limited resources. Simulation of these systems could also be done, but I am just working on the winner-take-all election right now, as this is what is on my mind --- as we have just come away from our Presidential election. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Register Now for Creativity and Technology (CaT), June 3rd, NYC. CaT is a gathering of tech-side developers & brand creativity professionals. Meet the minds behind Google Creative Lab, Visual Complexity, Processing, & iPhoneDevCamp as they present alongside digital heavyweights like Barbarian Group, R/GA, & Big Spaceship. http://p.sf.net/sfu/creativitycat-com _______________________________________________ Factor-talk mailing list Factor-talk@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/factor-talk
