My impression was that the "remember Toby" thread(s) was (were) inclining towards advocating simpler systems than CSSD. I heard more support for C//A, minimax, and SODA.
Separately, I agree that it's best to describe a system by focusing on the outcome rather than the procedure. The difference is not so large for C//A and SODA; for minimax, though, that inclines one to the "least extra votes" description. (Although with a covering Smith set > 4, this is not technically identical to minimax, I'm happy to ignore that difference, or even to actually use the "least extra votes" system instead of minimax.) JQ 2011/6/21 <[email protected]> > As I remember it, when Toby settled on CSSD, we made a huge psychological > mistake: we got bogged > down in the description of the CSSD algorithm for the public proposal. I > think that was a fatal mistake, > and I would like to propose a strategy for avoiding that mistake in the > future. > > It was a mistake because it gave the impression that to understand the > proposal, you have to > understand a detailed algorithm. > > Here’s an analogy: > > Complicated Version of the law of refraction: > Snell’s law says that the ratio of the signs of the angles of incidence and > refraction are equal to the > ratios of the speeds of light in the respective media at the interface > where the refraction takes place. > This is way too technical for the average man on the street. > > Simple version of the law of refraction: Fermat’s Principle's says that > light takes the path of least time. > The man on the street can understand this. Snell’s law gives a way of > finding that path of least time for > the technician. > > What is analogous to Fermat’s principle in the context of CSSD? > > Answer: the beatpath winner idea. We elect the alternative A with the > strongest beatpaths to the other > alternatives. This means that for each alternative B, alternative A has a > stronger beatpath to B than B > does to A. Once the concept of a beatpath is explained (and that its > strength is that of the weakest link) > then the man on the street can understand this definition of the method. > The CSSD algorithm is the > technical part like Snell’s law,that the man on the street doesn’t have to > worry about. > > > > ---- > Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info >
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