scholarly journals EPISTEMIC SOLIDARITY AS A POLITICAL STRATEGY

Episteme ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Goodin ◽  
Kai Spiekermann
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
False Consciousness ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Condorcet Jury Theorem ◽  
Jury Theorem ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Better Than

ABSTRACTSolidarity is supposed to facilitate collective action. We argue that it can also help overcome false consciousness. Groups practice ‘epistemic solidarity’ if they pool information about what is in their true interest and how to vote accordingly. The more numerous ‘Masses’ can in this way overcome the ‘Elites,’ but only if they are minimally confident with whom they share the same interests and only if they are (perhaps only just) better-than-random in voting for the alternative that promotes their interests. Being more cohesive and more competent than the Masses, the Elites can employ the same strategy perhaps all the more effectively. But so long as the Masses practice epistemic solidarity they will almost always win, whether or not the Elites do. By enriching the traditional framework of the Condorcet Jury Theorem with group-specific standards of correctness, we investigate how groups can organize to support the alternatives truly in their interests.

scholarly journals EPISTEMIC DEMOCRACY WITH DEFENSIBLE PREMISES

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Dietrich ◽  
Kai Spiekermann
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Wisdom Of Crowds ◽  
Contemporary Theory ◽  
Epistemic Democracy ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Condorcet Jury Theorem ◽  
Jury Theorem ◽  
Misleading Conclusion ◽  
Better Than ◽  
The Wisdom Of Crowds

The contemporary theory of epistemic democracy often draws on the Condorcet Jury Theorem to formally justify the ‘wisdom of crowds’. But this theorem is inapplicable in its current form, since one of its premises – voter independence – is notoriously violated. This premise carries responsibility for the theorem's misleading conclusion that ‘large crowds are infallible’. We prove a more useful jury theorem: under defensible premises, ‘large crowds are fallible but better than small groups’. This theorem rehabilitates the importance of deliberation and education, which appear inessential in the classical jury framework. Our theorem is related to Ladha's (1993) seminal jury theorem for interchangeable (‘indistinguishable’) voters based on de Finetti's Theorem. We also prove a more general and simpler such jury theorem.

scholarly journals Epistemic aspects of representative government

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Goodin ◽  
Kai Spiekermann
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Electoral College ◽  
Representative Government ◽  
Condorcet Jury Theorem ◽  
The Federalist ◽  
General Mass ◽  
Jury Theorem ◽  
Better Than

The Federalist, justifying the Electoral College to elect the president, claimed that a small group of more informed individuals would make a better decision than the general mass. But the Condorcet Jury Theorem tells us that the more independent, better-than-random voters there are, the more likely it will be that the majority among them will be correct. The question thus arises as to how much better, on average, members of the smaller group would have to be to compensate for the epistemic costs of making decisions on the basis of that many fewer votes. This question is explored in the contexts of referendum democracy, delegate-style representative democracy, and trustee-style representative democracy.

scholarly journals Information Aggregation, Rationality, and the Condorcet Jury Theorem

1996 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Austen-Smith ◽  
Jeffrey S. Banks
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Nash Equilibrium ◽  
Information Aggregation ◽  
Collective Decision Making ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Condorcet Jury Theorem ◽  
Jury Theorem ◽  
Sincere Voting ◽  
Two Alternatives ◽  
Better Than

The Condorcet Jury Theorem states that majorities are more likely than any single individual to select the “better” of two alternatives when there exists uncertainty about which of the two alternatives is in fact preferred. Most extant proofs of this theorem implicitly make the behavioral assumption that individuals vote “sincerely” in the collective decision making, a seemingly innocuous assumption, given that individuals are taken to possess a common preference for selecting the better alternative. However, in the model analyzed here we find that sincere behavior by all individuals is not rational even when individuals have such a common preference. In particular, sincere voting does not constitute a Nash equilibrium. A satisfactory rational choice foundation for the claim that majorities invariably “do better” than individuals, therefore, has yet to be derived.

scholarly journals The Mass-Luminosity Relation From Binaries

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 419-420
Author(s):  
David W. Latham
Keyword(s):  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
M Dwarfs ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
Nearby Stars ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Stellar Masses ◽  
M Dwarf ◽  
Magnitude Difference ◽  
Astrometric Binaries ◽  
Better Than

What is known about the masses of main-sequence stars from the analysis of binary orbits? Double-lined eclipsing binaries are the main source of very precise stellar masses and radii (e.g. Andersen 1997), contributing more than 100 determinations with better than 2% precision over the range 0.6 to 20 Mʘ. For lower-mass stars we are forced to turn to nearby systems with astrometric orbits (e.g. Henry et al. 1993). Not only is the number of good mass determinations from such systems smaller, but also the precision is generally poorer. We are approaching an era when interferometers should have a major impact by supplying good astrometric orbits for dozens of double-lined systems. Already we are beginning to see the sorts of results to expect from this (e.g. Torres et al. 1997). Figure 1. Mass vs. absolute V magnitude for eclipsing binaries (circles) and nearby astrometric binaries (squares) Figure 1 is an updated version of a diagram presented by Henry et al. (1993, their Figure 2). It shows the general run of mass determinations from about 10 Mʘ down to the substellar limit near 0.075 Mʘ. Ninety of the points in Figure 1 are for eclipsing binary masses from Andersen’s review (1991) and are plotted as open circles. The results for eclipsing binaries published since 1991 are plotted as 30 filled circles, adopting the same limit of 2% for the mass precision. In most cases the uncertainties are similar to the size of the symbols. Especially noteworthy is the pair of new points for CM Draconis (Metcalfe et al. 1996) with masses near 0.25 Mʘ. Together with the points for YY Geminorum near 0.6 Mʘ, these are the only M dwarfs that have precise mass determinations. For the most part we are forced to rely on nearby stars with astrometric orbits, to fill in the M dwarf region of the diagram. We have used filled squares in Figure 1 for 29 such systems from Henry et al. (1993), updated using 14 new parallaxes from Hipparcos and 4 from the new Yale Parallax Catalog (1995). Gliese 508 is not included, because it is now known to be a triple, while Gliese 67AB, 570BC, and 623AB are not included because there are not yet any direct measurements of the V magnitude difference for these systems.

scholarly journals Mass determination of the 1:3:5 near-resonant planets transiting GJ 9827 (K2-135)

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A116 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Prieto-Arranz ◽  
E. Palle ◽  
D. Gandolfi ◽  
O. Barragán ◽  
E. W. Guenther ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Planetary System ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Space Mission ◽  
Mass Determination ◽  
Velocity Measurements ◽  
Orbital Periods ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Better Than

Context. Multiplanet systems are excellent laboratories to test planet formation models as all planets are formed under the same initial conditions. In this context, systems transiting bright stars can play a key role, since planetary masses, radii, and bulk densities can be measured. Aims. GJ 9827 (K2-135) has recently been found to host a tightly packed system consisting of three transiting small planets whose orbital periods of 1.2, 3.6, and 6.2 days are near the 1:3:5 ratio. GJ 9827 hosts the nearest planetary system (~30 pc) detected by NASA’s Kepler or K2 space mission. Its brightness (V = 10.35 mag) makes the star an ideal target for detailed studies of the properties of its planets. Methods. Combining the K2 photometry with high-precision radial-velocity measurements gathered with the FIES, HARPS, and HARPS-N spectrographs we revised the system parameters and derive the masses of the three planets. Results. We find that GJ 9827 b has a mass of Mb = 3.69−0.46+0.48 M⊕ and a radius of Rb = 1.58−0.13+0.14 R⊕, yielding a mean density of ρb = 5.11−1.27+1.74 g cm−3. GJ 9827 c has a mass of Mc = 1.45−0.57+0.58 M⊕, radius of Rc = 1.24−0.11+0.11 R⊕, and a mean density of ρc = 4.13−1.77+2.31 g cm−3. For GJ 9827 d, we derive Md = 1.45−0.57+0.58 M⊕, Rd = 1.24−0.11+0.11 R⊕, and ρd = 1.51−0.53+0.71 g cm−3. Conclusions. GJ 9827 is one of the few known transiting planetary systems for which the masses of all planets have been determined with a precision better than 30%. This system is particularly interesting because all three planets are close to the limit between super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. The planetary bulk compositions are compatible with a scenario where all three planets formed with similar core and atmosphere compositions, and we speculate that while GJ 9827 b and GJ 9827 c lost their atmospheric envelopes, GJ 9827 d maintained its primordial atmosphere, owing to the much lower stellarirradiation. This makes GJ 9827 one of the very few systems where the dynamical evolution and the atmosphericescape can be studied in detail for all planets, helping us to understand how compact systems form and evolve.

Second Mechanism of Democratic Reason: Majority Rule

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Landemore
Keyword(s):  
Majority Rule ◽  
Cognitive Diversity ◽  
Condorcet Jury Theorem ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Jury Theorem ◽  
The Right

This chapter argues that majority rule is a useful complement of inclusive deliberation, not just because majority rule is more efficient timewise, but because it has distinct epistemic properties of its own. It also stresses that majority rule is best designed for collective prediction—that is, the identification of the best options out of those selected during the deliberative phase. Of all the competing alternatives (rule of one or rule of the few), majority rule maximizes the chances of predicting the right answer among the proposed options. The chapter considers several accounts of the epistemic properties of majority rule, including the Condorcet Jury Theorem, the Miracle of Aggregation, and a more fine-grained model based on cognitive diversity.

scholarly journals Planck’s Dusty GEMS

2019 ◽  
Vol 624 ◽  
pp. A23 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. P. H. Nesvadba ◽  
R. Cañameras ◽  
R. Kneissl ◽  
S. Koenig ◽  
C. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Redshift ◽  
Starburst Galaxies ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Atomic Carbon ◽  
High Redshift Galaxies ◽  
Neutral Gas ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Good Agreement

The bright 3P1–3P0 ([CI] 1–0) and 3P2–3P1 ([CI] 2–1) lines of atomic carbon are becoming more and more widely employed as tracers of the cold neutral gas in high-redshift galaxies. Here we present observations of these lines in the 11 galaxies of the set of Planck’s Dusty GEMS, the brightest gravitationally lensed galaxies on the extragalactic submillimeter sky probed by the Planck satellite. We have [CI] 1–0 and [CI] 2–1 measurements for seven and eight of these galaxies, respectively, including four galaxies where both lines have been measured. We use our observations to constrain the gas excitation mechanism, excitation temperatures, optical depths, atomic carbon and molecular gas masses, and carbon abundances. Ratios of LCI/LFIR are similar to those found in the local universe, and suggest that the total cooling budget through atomic carbon has not significantly changed in the last 12 Gyr. Both lines are optically thin and trace 1 − 6 × 107 M⊙ of atomic carbon. Carbon abundances, XCI, are between 2.5 and 4 × 10−5, for an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) CO-to-H2 conversion factor of αCO = 0.8 M⊙ / [K km s−1 pc2]. Ratios of molecular gas masses derived from [CI] 1–0 and CO agree within the measurement uncertainties for five galaxies, and agree to better than a factor of two for another two with [CI] 1–0 measurements, after carefully taking CO excitation into account. This does not support the idea that intense, high-redshift starburst galaxies host large quantities of “CO-dark” gas. These results support the common assumptions underlying most molecular gas mass estimates made for massive, dusty, high-redshift starburst galaxies, although the good agreement between the masses obtained with both tracers cannot be taken as independent confirmation of either αCO or XCI.

scholarly journals Orbital and physical parameters of eclipsing binaries from the ASAS catalogue – XI. CHIRON investigation of long-period binaries

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (4) ◽  
pp. 4972-4988
Author(s):  
M Ratajczak ◽  
R K Pawłaszek ◽  
K G Hełminiak ◽  
M Konacki ◽  
P Sybilski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Correlation ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Correlation Technique ◽  
Red Giants ◽  
Evolved Stars ◽  
V Band ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Cross Correlation Technique ◽  
Better Than

ABSTRACT We present the results of a spectroscopic campaign on eclipsing binaries with long orbital period (P = 20–75 d) carried out with the CHIRON spectrograph. Physical and orbital solutions for seven systems were derived from the V band, and I band ASAS, WASP, and TESS photometry, while radial velocities were calculated from high-quality optical spectra using a two-dimensional cross-correlation technique. The atmospheric parameters of the stars have been determined from the separated spectra. Most of our targets are composed of evolved stars (subgiants or red giants) but two systems show components in different phases of evolution and one possible merger. For four binaries, the masses and radii of the components were obtained with precision better than $3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. These objects provide very valuable information on stellar evolution.

scholarly journals ‘To Act upon one's Time …’ From the impulse to resist to global political strategy

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Müller
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Political Resistance ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Strategic Action ◽  
Political Actions

This article reflects on the possibilities for political action emerging out of quotidian engagements. Following controversies on the patenting of seeds in Canada and globally within the Committee for Food Security I explore what gave the impulse for political resistance in these different arenas. How did collective action emerge and how did it sustain itself? Three political concepts are important for understanding the political actions that I observed: Eigen-Sinn, empathy and strategy. These allowed me to follow and theorize political engagements. I first reflect on the potential to resist as a capacity of all human beings, because they have Eigen-Sinn: the capacity to attribute their own meanings to things, and act in their own self-interested way according to the meaning given. Self-interested action can only become political, however, when humans go beyond their strictly individual interests and empathize with others (humans and nonhumans), what Adorno described as getting into ‘live contact with the warmth of things’. Finally, I discuss how collective action can become not only possible, but also effective, by building and defending a space for strategic action.

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