Marginal Revolution

A public choice theory of the filibuster

Senators like the filibuster. It keeps them relevant when they're in the minority. It makes their chamber a lot more powerful than in the House, and ensures that the leadership has to listen to their concerns more closely.

That's Ezra Klein, here is more.

False theories of bargaining power

The idea is that publishers could use their robots.txt as a ransom note, selling it to the highest bidder -- Bing or Google.

Here is the link.  Still, it is a cute idea.

*Fanfare* meta-list for recommended classical music recordings, 2009

Every November I scour the critics' "Want Lists" from Fanfare, my favorite classical music periodical.  Then I go and spend a lot of money.  Here is the list of all the new recordings, from 2009, which were mentioned by more than one critic:

1. Mahler's 4th, conducted by Ivan Fischer.

2. John Adams, Doctor Atomic Symphony.

3. Mahler: The Complete Symphonies, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, remastered edition.

4. Kurtag's Ghosts, by Kurtag and Formenti.

5. John Adams, Transmigration of Souls, and other works conducted by Robert Spano.

6. Oppens Plays Carter, by Ursula Oppens.

Of that list, #6 received the most selections.  Here are the meta-list picks from last year, all of which turned out to be excellent, if you like that sort of thing that is.  I hope to be passing along more meta-lists soon.

Cool Japanese Barcodes

More here.

The best sentence I read today, 7:46 a.m. edition

Someone once told me that there is nowhere we are more honest than the search box.

That's from still-a-Wunder-but-no-longer-a-Kind Ben Casnocha.  Read the whole post (drawing upon Michael Agger), it's one of the best I've seen in some time.  For instance:

There are some remarkable contrasts between "dumb" searches and "smart" ones. People who start their search "how 2" are more likely to search "how 2 get pregnant" or "how 2 grow weed." People who start their search "how one might" are more likely to search "how one might discover a new piece of music" or "how one might for the rise of andrew jackson in 1828."

Another contrast is between people who type in "is it wrong to" vs. people who type in "is it unethical to."  If you type in "is it wrong to" the first suggestion is "is it wrong to sleep with your cousin."  Number two is (yes, I tested it in Google): "Is it wrong to sleep with your step dad after your mom dies."  If you type in "is it unethical to," the first suggestion is "is it ethical to sell customer information."  Next comes a question about animal experimentation.  You'll see the lists of comparisons behind the first two links offered above.

Assorted links

1. Felix Salmon also recommends the new Bob Pozen book.

2. Are dreams just exercise for the brain?  I enjoyed this line: “I argue that dreaming is not a parallel state but that it is consciousness itself, in the absence of input from the senses..."

3. Rene Girard on war and apocalypse.

4. How much do (non-related) animals cooperate?

5. Via Kat, why we fall for "fast news."

6. How to improve the health care bill, by David Leonhardt.

Whoops!

If you believed all the talk from Chrysler about how our tax dollars would help finance its fast-track electric-vehicle future, you're in for a big disappointment.

Chrysler has disbanded the engineering team that was trying to bring three electric models to market as a rush job, Automotive News reports today. Chrysler cited its devotion to electric vehicles as one of the key reasons why the Obama administration and Congress needed to give it $12.5 billion in bailout money, the News points out.

The link is here and I thank John Nye for the pointer.