[EM] Regarding my reply to Lomax's example

[Michael Ossipoff]

When replying to Lomax's Approval example, I was influenced by the fact that
he spoke of "inverting" to get utilities from distances. That made it sound
as if distances are reciprocal utilities. Of course one could mean whichever
they wanted to by distances: Reciprocal utilities or negative utilities
(where distance is disutility)

But the latter interpretation--distance as disutility, negative
utility--seems more in keeping with what we mean by candidate distance. If a
candidate is very far away, surely we consider that to be more than a zero.
Isn't it more of a big disutility? 

Anyway, by that interpretation of Lomax's distances in his example, yes the
voter he referred to should approve the Green too, in addition to the
Democrat. But that's a voter who, himself, is nearly a Green.

Anyway, that discussion doesn't change the overall import of what I've said.

Mike Ossipoff