Voting in Agreeable SocietiesMay 1, 2008 at 7–8:15 p.m.

Professor Francis Edward Su of Harvey Mudd College will address the following questions. When can a majority of voters find common ground, that is, a position they all agree upon? How does the shape of the political spectrum influence the outcome? What does mathematics have to say about how people behave? When mathematical objects have a social interpretation, the associated theorems have social applications. Without assuming any specialized background in mathematics, Prof. Su will give examples of situations where sets model preferences and show how extensions of classical theorems about convex sets can be used in the analysis of voting in "agreeable" societies. His research on this topic was performed in collaboration with undergraduates.