[EM] Cheering for simplicity/Orphan

[Alex Small]

John B. Hodges said:
> Some time back I asked why the folks here worked so hard to find
> other methods of Proportional Representation when we had Party List  and
> STV, which seemed to cover all the necessary bases. People
> responded with their complaints about both methods.

Well, many of us are interested in election methods for intellectual
reasons as well as practical reasons.  Yes, we want to see better election
methods implemented, but we are also personally intrigued by some of the
intellectual issues related to election methods.  Devising a different
election method to satisfy some criterion might help us understand what is
necessary in order to satisfy that criterion, and hence why certain
phenomena can occur.

The hope is that some of this can later be used to inform the design of
simpler election methods, or at least enrich our personal understanding. 
Even if we (hypothetically, mind you, let's not open old debates just now)
never proposed anything more complicated than Approval and Party List in
public discussions, a deeper personal understanding would help us when
questions arise.

Also, there is a small group of professionals who study election methods
for a living.  In any campaign to introduce a new election method
(whatever it might be) we will almost certainly butt heads with some of
them (e.g. Saari).  We need to know what we're talking about.  So an
academic understanding of the deeper mathematical issues is worth having,
and proposing arcane methods for fun on this forum may be a good way to
enhance that understanding.



Alex