Rule changes for soccer, part 4: enforcement of offsides

The offside rule is one of soccer's finest. But it has a major problem: it is quite literally impossible for one person to enforce accurately, because it requires simultaneous visual attention at two different locations. With the simple pressing of a button, though, the offside rule can be salvaged.

Piano sound

Well, then, back to something about which I can claim to have a modicum of authority! It's common, when one hears a musician of any stripe, to comment on the overall quality of his or her "sound," and this is no different for pianists. In fact, some pianists have such distinctive ways of playing that they each have a characteristic and recognizable sound that separates their playing from other pianists. With enough listening, one acquires the impression that each note a certain pianist plays could belong only to that pianist.

But in fact, the impression that different pianists have a distinctive sound in this way is an illusion. On other instruments, a musician can create a characteristic timbre with his or her own playing. Timbre refers to the spectrum of overtones above a fundamental frequency and the variations in the amplitude of these overtones through time. Different spacings of overtones are what give each instrument and each voice its characteristic tone, as well as different members of the same instrument, and different musicians on the same instrument. Different string players vibrate differently; everyone's voice resonates in a body that is slightly different.

Unlike on a string or wind instrument, or voice, though, there's not much a pianist can do with any one note to make it unique in the same way.

The twisted economics of finance

I was reading this article the other day in the New Yorker about the aftermath of the financial meltdown last year. Since it's actually only available for subscribers, a quick summary might be: lots of "Chicago-school" economists have radically changed their thinking about the economy since the crash, and those who haven't are crazy. These economists were the dominant intellectual force behind the successful laissez-faire, pro-market, anti-regulation economic policy crusades of the 80s onward.

In the article, author John Cassidy talks about "rational expectations" theories of economics, which, simply put, hypothesize that people have a "true" model of the economy in their little heads and factor in all the variables of this model (whatever the hell it may actually be) when they make economic decisions. One of the economists in the story, Eugene Fama, claims that in the stockmarket, people's behavior, both in the run-up to and aftermath of the financial crisis, was largely rational. This claim is insane for a few reasons, but it reminded me specifically of an argument my father and I had with my mother some ten years ago about stocks (my mother, by the way, is a real life economist, but not a crazy one).

Prop 8 lawsuit

Today was the first day of a federal trial challenging the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8. Here's a passionate defense of the lawsuit by conservative challenger Ted Olson. Andrew Sullivan (one of my favorite political commentators, a homosexual himself) also comments about it here, and generally keeps up-to-date with interesting stuff on his blog.

Most people, liberal and conservative alike, expect the amendment's challengers to lose and the amendment to stand. The case is most interesting for me fro showing--and I say this with some apprehension--that the Constitution will always be no more progressive than the people reading it.

vacation over: a rude welcome back to the real world

So my long vacation comes to an end. I was going to write about music on Monday night; however, that was before I was hit by a car while biking home. Don't worry, I'm totally fine, which makes me really lucky! In addition, now I get to write about how awesome my hospital experience was!

Christmas part 3: re-gifting and music

In my family we have another tradition to reduce the crass consumerism (and increase the laziness factor) of the season: re-gifting. Instead of buying each other gifts we mostly just give each other things we already own. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll get something you tried to get rid of the year before. Re-gifting at its finest!

CDs are common currency among re-gifters in my family (with a cameo this year from clementines, since we bought about a thousand by accident). Since we all like the same sorts of music, or at least there are areas of overlap, this works out pretty well. This year it gives me opportunity to launch a new blog theme: recordings I love to regift because they're the best ever!

Welcome back and Merry Christmas cont'd

Welcome back to Sam's Posts from the now defunct Dualing Personalities blog (my prediction came true). Eli will remain as a guest blogger.

On with Christmas-themed things while I wait for the family to come together to open presents (late start this year). Every Christmas Eve my family and I watch "It's a Wonderful Life." Widely considered one of the best movies ever made, it makes for a great holiday tradition, and it's one of my favorites; otherwise, watching it once a year for the last 20 would get a little annoying. The movie's central message never gets old and never fails to move; I mean, we can tell ourselves not to take life for granted, but it's so much more effective to see the joy on George's face when he gets his erstwhile unwanted life back.

Still, I'd say much of the movie's everlasting charm and entertainment comes from its continuous supply of quirky and hilarious moments.

merry christmas

As a wise man once said, "Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ"

recession question

So we're all used to hearing about how dynamic the US economy is, and we all learn in our intro economics classes how the labor market is supposed to function more or less like a free market. Even though no one really thinks that's true, I've been wondering why the labor market is seemingly so dysfuctional.

ethical eating, part 2

So, my sister and others pretty much convinced me that animal cruelty in the meat industry is more like a good ol' collective action (or prisoner's dilemma) problem than I originally thought. With this new perspective come my revised thoughts (basically rephrasing what others have already said or pointed out to me):

Rule changes for soccer, part 3: penalty kicks and the penalty area

So, now that the advantage rule is history, we delve into the more controversial realm. I decided that instead of going in order of ease of correction I'd just wait until I see things in real games that really tick me off and write about them in the order that they arrive. [Spoiler alert for the Liverpool-Arsenal game] The next problem is the size of the penalty area and the awarding of penalties.

Climategate

Not-all-that-interesting-interview with Al Gore about climate-gate. There are two important points he makes in the interview though. Here's one:

The blog may be relocating

So Eli decided to hop on the blogging bandwagon (I think everyone I know knows him, so no need for introductions). Ya know those blogs that are like, double-blogs? Well, we've got one now. Given our nearly identical interests, the thematic continuity of this blog shouldn't be disturbed. But just in case, I'll post everything here too until I can say with confidence that Eli is actually serious about joining forces. This vetting process should take no more than a few years. Meanwhile, check it out.

Rule changes for soccer, part 2: the advantage rule

The advantage rule should be modified to more closely resemble the one used in hockey. This change is so glaringly obvious I can’t believe it hasn’t been officially adopted yet. Currently, the advantage rule actually provides a positive incentive to foul in many instances, whereas, a priori, the laws of the game should be designed such that punishments for infringements are sufficient to overcome that incentive. These instances occur most commonly when an opponent makes a pass a sufficient distance—say 40 yards or more—from a defending player’s goal. If the defending player is close enough to the player making the pass and thinks the pass will be successful, he has a clear incentive to commit a foul. As long as his foul is not blatant enough to warrant a yellow card, the maximum punishment is a free kick far from his own goal. But, assuming the advantage is played, the benefit to fouling is to disrupt the player who just made the pass and eliminate him from attacking play, and, more generally, to get a chance to kick an opponent, annoy him, or possibly incite a retaliation, all without fear of further punishment. What should happen in this instance is to “play the advantage” for the duration of possession, and then award the original free kick once the advantage is lost, no matter how long its duration. The advantage rule as it currently stands is a detriment to attacking and encourages excessive and disruptive fouling. Why hasn’t it been changed?

Rule changes for soccer? part 1

The rules of soccer, or “laws of the game,” are elegant, simple, and incredible. There are lots of ways you could set up a game where two teams kick a single ball toward opposite goals, but the way soccer is structured is a big reason it became and continues to be the “beautiful game.” The rules have served us very well over the years with only a few modifications, but they go largely unexamined. I think a few more changes might be in order.

Let's back up a little first. In soccer, there’s a perennial battle between “purists” and “realists” that takes on a distinctly moral character. I could describe it at length (more here!), but it basically boils down to this: sometimes, lots of the time, the team that plays “the best soccer” doesn't win. Purists simultaneously support those teams and want them to win while also wanting all teams to play more “attractive” soccer regardless of whether it helps their results. Realists think that winning is more important than any individual strategy and are willing to embrace a variety of tactics as means to that end.