I’d Like to Thank the Academy…

What the Oscars Can Teach Us About Democracy

Who should prevail in a popularity contest featuring several choices? Should one measure depth or breadth of support?

Consider the classic “What movie should we see?” conundrum. Five guys want to go see a movie, two of them want to see Black Swan, but the other three say that’s the last movie they’d ever want to see. Trouble is, they’ve each offered up a different first choice (though they can all agree on an alternative). Do they go see Black Swan regardless, because it was the sole movie to receive 2 …