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The Thirsty Mind
October 16, 2014
The latest issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience includes an article by a group of researchers from the Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, at Oxford. The group, which is led by Scott Waddell, studies rewards, motivation, and memory in the comparatively simple brain of the fruit fly. Drosophila melanogaster has been a tiny laboratory workhorse for more than a century, ever since it helped prove the theory of chromosomal inheritance. There are about a hundred thousand neurons in the fruit-fly...
October 16, 2014
The latest issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience includes an article by a group of researchers from the Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, at Oxford. The group, which is led by Scott Waddell, studies rewards, motivation, and memory in the comparatively simple brain of the fruit fly. Drosophila melanogaster has been a tiny laboratory workhorse for more than a century, ever since it helped prove the theory of chromosomal inheritance. There are about a hundred thousand neurons in the fruit-fly...
“Why Nudge? The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism” by Sunstein
October 8, 2014
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Why Nudge?: The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism (The Storrs Lectures Series) by Cass Sunstein. Here is a description: Based on a series of pathbreaking lectures given at Yale University in 2012, this powerful, thought-provoking work by national best-selling author Cass R. Sunstein combines legal theory with behavioral economics to make a fresh argument about the legitimate scope of government, bearing on obesity, smoking, distracted driving, health care,...
October 8, 2014
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Why Nudge?: The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism (The Storrs Lectures Series) by Cass Sunstein. Here is a description: Based on a series of pathbreaking lectures given at Yale University in 2012, this powerful, thought-provoking work by national best-selling author Cass R. Sunstein combines legal theory with behavioral economics to make a fresh argument about the legitimate scope of government, bearing on obesity, smoking, distracted driving, health care,...
Perez on Experts & Biases and Heuristics
October 7, 2014
Oren Perez (Professor, Bar-Ilan University - Faculty of Law) has posted Can Experts Be Trusted and What Can Be Done About it? Insights from the Biases and Heuristics Literature (Forthcoming in 'Nudging and the Law: A European Perspective'; Alberto Alemanno and Anne-Lise Sibony Eds. (HART, 2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Experts play an important role in the European Union ("EU") regulatory apparatus. They assist the EU Commission in multiple functions ranging from designing policies to the implementation...
October 7, 2014
Oren Perez (Professor, Bar-Ilan University - Faculty of Law) has posted Can Experts Be Trusted and What Can Be Done About it? Insights from the Biases and Heuristics Literature (Forthcoming in 'Nudging and the Law: A European Perspective'; Alberto Alemanno and Anne-Lise Sibony Eds. (HART, 2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Experts play an important role in the European Union ("EU") regulatory apparatus. They assist the EU Commission in multiple functions ranging from designing policies to the implementation...
Presentation: Predicting the Behavior of the Supreme Court
October 3, 2014
Last week, I had the honor of presenting during the Texas Bar Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course. I spoke during the lunchtime panel with Justice Eva Guzman (SCOTX) and Professor Lee Epstein. I discussed our new Supreme Court prediction algorithm, and our soon-to-be announced FantasySCOTUS tournament.
October 3, 2014
Last week, I had the honor of presenting during the Texas Bar Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course. I spoke during the lunchtime panel with Justice Eva Guzman (SCOTX) and Professor Lee Epstein. I discussed our new Supreme Court prediction algorithm, and our soon-to-be announced FantasySCOTUS tournament.
Is Legal Reasoning Like Medical Reasoning?
October 2, 2014
In this paper, stimulated by the publication some years ago in France of a small book on medical reasoning, legal and medical reasoning are compared. The question that is asked is whether the differences between the two types of reasoning will permit one to have a better understanding of some of the methodological and epistemological issues associated with legal reasoning. It will be argued that although medical and legal reasoners do share things in common, legal reasoning, perhaps unlike medical...
October 2, 2014
In this paper, stimulated by the publication some years ago in France of a small book on medical reasoning, legal and medical reasoning are compared. The question that is asked is whether the differences between the two types of reasoning will permit one to have a better understanding of some of the methodological and epistemological issues associated with legal reasoning. It will be argued that although medical and legal reasoners do share things in common, legal reasoning, perhaps unlike medical...
How Improving Decision-Making and Mindfulness Can Improve Legal Ethics and Professionalism
October 1, 2014
Lawyers who behave unethically and unprofessionally do so for various reasons, ranging from intention to carelessness. Lawyer misconduct can also result from decision-making flaws. Psychologist Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath, in their best-selling book, Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work, suggest a process to improve people’s decision-making. They introduce the acronym WRAP as the mnemonic for these decision-making heuristics: (1) Widen your options, (2) Reality-test...
October 1, 2014
Lawyers who behave unethically and unprofessionally do so for various reasons, ranging from intention to carelessness. Lawyer misconduct can also result from decision-making flaws. Psychologist Chip Heath and his brother Dan Heath, in their best-selling book, Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work, suggest a process to improve people’s decision-making. They introduce the acronym WRAP as the mnemonic for these decision-making heuristics: (1) Widen your options, (2) Reality-test...
That’s Not Fair and You Are O.K. With That
September 30, 2014
What if I told you that fairness is not necessarily something that people are looking for in life’s activities, would you agree? The reality is that research suggests that people are strongly influenced by their self-interest and not by the sense of fairness. One study found that unlike a situation where a person gets the lesser end of a bargain and complains about fairness, when people get the better end of the bargain they don’t complain about it. They don’t consider it to be unfair. The...
September 30, 2014
What if I told you that fairness is not necessarily something that people are looking for in life’s activities, would you agree? The reality is that research suggests that people are strongly influenced by their self-interest and not by the sense of fairness. One study found that unlike a situation where a person gets the lesser end of a bargain and complains about fairness, when people get the better end of the bargain they don’t complain about it. They don’t consider it to be unfair. The...
Another Problem with Arbitration: Panel Bias
September 29, 2014
Sunday's New York Times has a story by Gretchen Morgenson on the front page of its Business Section that illustrates an additional...
September 29, 2014
Sunday's New York Times has a story by Gretchen Morgenson on the front page of its Business Section that illustrates an additional...
Sunstein on Choosing Not to Choose
September 15, 2014
Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School) has posted Choosing Not to Choose on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Choice can be an extraordinary benefit or an immense burden. In some contexts, people choose not to choose, or would do so if they were asked. For example, many people prefer not to make choices about their health or retirement plans; they want to delegate those choices to a private or public institution that they trust (and may well be willing to pay a considerable amount for such delegations)....
September 15, 2014
Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School) has posted Choosing Not to Choose on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Choice can be an extraordinary benefit or an immense burden. In some contexts, people choose not to choose, or would do so if they were asked. For example, many people prefer not to make choices about their health or retirement plans; they want to delegate those choices to a private or public institution that they trust (and may well be willing to pay a considerable amount for such delegations)....
Judge Chastises Attorneys for Claiming Mediator Bias
September 15, 2014
In the Detroit bankruptcy case, one of the creditors claimed that the mediators – one of whom is the Chief US District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan – were biased in favor of some philanthropic creditors. According to this article the creditors claimed: The plain truth is that the mediators in this case acted improperly by orchestrating a settlement that alienates the city’s most valuable assets for the sole benefit of one creditor group. Yowza !! Now that’s a charge. According...
September 15, 2014
In the Detroit bankruptcy case, one of the creditors claimed that the mediators – one of whom is the Chief US District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan – were biased in favor of some philanthropic creditors. According to this article the creditors claimed: The plain truth is that the mediators in this case acted improperly by orchestrating a settlement that alienates the city’s most valuable assets for the sole benefit of one creditor group. Yowza !! Now that’s a charge. According...
