Forest W Simmons writes: > Has anybody explored this idea? > > Make an electrical circuit with a terminal for each candidate. > > For each pair of terminals attach a diode that has a different > resistance in each direction: the resistance in the direction from > candidate i to candidate j is proportional to the number of ballots on > which candidate j is ranked above candidate i. > > After all of the diodes are attached measure the circuit resistance > between terminals i and j. > > The candidate X against whom the maximal resistance is minimal is the > winner.
I do not understand the analogy to electrical circuits. 1) Diodes do not have an impedance that is easily characterized by a single number. Roughly, they conduct a lot of forward current if the forward voltage is above a certain value, and have a (negative) breakdown voltage beyond which they allow current to flow easily in the reverse direction. 2) If there are independent paths between point X and Y in a circuit (that is, the endpoints are the only places that any path intersects with any other path), the impedance from X to Y is the geometric mean of the impedances of each path. I do not understand why this would be desirable for defeat paths. 3) Related to #2, impedance is measured between two points. When you say "candidate X against whom the maximal resistance is minimal", what is the other point of reference for measuring resistance? What properties of a resistive network were you trying to capture? Michael Poole. ---- election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
