Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Fun election facts

From 20 things you didn’t know about elections

Humans are not the only ones that vote. When it is time to find a new hive, honeybees vote for the best location, even though they can’t count. After scouts return from casing possible sites, they dance. The bees that dance most vigorously will recruit other scouts until one site wins.

For more than 500 years the doge of Venice was selected by 30 members of the Great Council who were chosen by lot, who were then reduced by lot to 9, who then chose 40, who were then reduced by lot to 12 who then chose 25, who were reduced by lot to 9, who then elected 45, who were reduced by lot to 11 who then chose the 41 who finally elected the doge. We are assured by researchers that this actually worked reasonably well in avoiding corruption and the influence of special interests.

Book Review - Music of the Primes by Marcus du Sautoy (2003)

I can say, with some modesty, that I am familiar with the subject of mathematics more than an average person is. Despite that I hadn’t ever ...