Efficient Processes
As Michelle noted, the fat packet of CU information included a 'suggested reading list', that supposedly somebody (somebodies?) had requested. So, I logged on to the Longmont Public Library's online catalog, to see which ones I could read for free (or at least, for the cost of the overdue fines I seem to always incur). A total of three books were in the collection, and two were already checked out.
So when I went to the library to return the biography Thomas More, there was but Jurismania to accompany The Cat who Went Bananas in my book bag (along with the new The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers, which I actually plunked down cash for at Borders) that rides along in the van for those inevitable moments of hurry-up-and-wait that happen at karate, music lessons, concerts, etc.
Now Bananas was not one of the best-written stories that Lillian Jackson Braun has produced, but it still was a page-turner... I'm never good at putting down a story until its over. Done with that in one round of Karate Lessons. But Jurismania I can put down between reading moments (and even fall asleep in the middle of)... but that doesn't mean I don't like the book. Just different genres. And that makes it a good book-bag occupant. I've made it through about 4 chapters so far.
The author (Professor Campos) spends the first couple chapters likening the practice of Law to a mental illness. Hmm... interesting. I 'ppreciate the warning.
Then he begins to describe the Las Vegas theory of law, comparing the process of conflicts through the legal system to a betting numbers spread... and that disputes are settled when parties become reasonably certain of the outcome (including consideration of the costs). Issues that have a high level of uncertainty (which tend to be ones where interpretation of rights come into conflict) are the ones that proceed to the highest levels of the legal system. When the legal system works like this, it is working efficiently. Campos points out that efficient is not the same as fair.
In an odd coincidence, this theory sheds light on the irksome situation my husband faced on Monday: deciding whether to pay or fight a ticket. Up in Fort Collins, they use a photo-system to catch red-light runners, and a few weeks ago, such a photo showed him doing exactly that. Clearly it was his car, clearly he was the driver. What was also clear is that the city bus in front of him was obscuring his view of the traffic light, and a large SUV to his right obscured the side-mounted traffic light.
Sure, he could go up to Fort Collins (twice), with diagrams and trigonometric equations, to show how there was no way whatsoever he could have known he was running the red light. But the fine was only $75... and the four hours of driving (there and back twice), along with the waiting around for the judge (say, 2 hours minimum) would have cost him more than three times the amount of the fine.
So, though it was galling to do so, he chose to pay the fine. And this, my friends, is a good example of an efficient process.
So when I went to the library to return the biography Thomas More, there was but Jurismania to accompany The Cat who Went Bananas in my book bag (along with the new The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers, which I actually plunked down cash for at Borders) that rides along in the van for those inevitable moments of hurry-up-and-wait that happen at karate, music lessons, concerts, etc.
Now Bananas was not one of the best-written stories that Lillian Jackson Braun has produced, but it still was a page-turner... I'm never good at putting down a story until its over. Done with that in one round of Karate Lessons. But Jurismania I can put down between reading moments (and even fall asleep in the middle of)... but that doesn't mean I don't like the book. Just different genres. And that makes it a good book-bag occupant. I've made it through about 4 chapters so far.
The author (Professor Campos) spends the first couple chapters likening the practice of Law to a mental illness. Hmm... interesting. I 'ppreciate the warning.
Then he begins to describe the Las Vegas theory of law, comparing the process of conflicts through the legal system to a betting numbers spread... and that disputes are settled when parties become reasonably certain of the outcome (including consideration of the costs). Issues that have a high level of uncertainty (which tend to be ones where interpretation of rights come into conflict) are the ones that proceed to the highest levels of the legal system. When the legal system works like this, it is working efficiently. Campos points out that efficient is not the same as fair.
In an odd coincidence, this theory sheds light on the irksome situation my husband faced on Monday: deciding whether to pay or fight a ticket. Up in Fort Collins, they use a photo-system to catch red-light runners, and a few weeks ago, such a photo showed him doing exactly that. Clearly it was his car, clearly he was the driver. What was also clear is that the city bus in front of him was obscuring his view of the traffic light, and a large SUV to his right obscured the side-mounted traffic light.
Sure, he could go up to Fort Collins (twice), with diagrams and trigonometric equations, to show how there was no way whatsoever he could have known he was running the red light. But the fine was only $75... and the four hours of driving (there and back twice), along with the waiting around for the judge (say, 2 hours minimum) would have cost him more than three times the amount of the fine.
So, though it was galling to do so, he chose to pay the fine. And this, my friends, is a good example of an efficient process.
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