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Course Description

Summary

Mathematics and the natural sciences have a long history together, but recently, mathematicians have begun using the tools of their trade on a collection of problems from the social sciences. Is it right that, as a Californian, my vote counted much less than yours did in the last presidential election? If a business fails with a million dollars in the bank, and it owes you a million dollars and owes me $500,000, should you receive one-half of, two-thirds of, three-fourths of, or all of the million dollars that you’re owed as part of the bankruptcy settlement? This class will consider the problem of turning a collection of individual preferences into a collective decision, in many different situations: from elections to divorce settlements to apportionment and gerrymandering. We’ll consider the Electoral College, ranked-choice voting, fair division problems, apportionment problems, and some of the mechanics behind mathematical decision making, including utility functions and game theory.