More generally, any small change occurring in some quantity can cascade toward a hugely disproportionate consequence down the road. In this case the consequence is the identity of the next president of the United States. Rather than examining other disputed vote totals mathematically, I'll end by recalling a classic problem in the history of probability that is relevant to the problem of what to do in indeterminate situations. Two men, A and B, bet on a series of coin flips. The game, however, is interrupted after only 8 flips with A leading B 5 to 3.
Proportional division has a long tradition.
Yet another approach involves the probability that A or B would have gone on to win. Settling on the Rules Other divisions are possible as well. Unfortunately in both the Florida election and this little example, the criteria for deciding the issue are not at all obvious. Mathematics may help determine the consequences of our assumptions and values. But we, not some mathematical divinity, are the source of these assumptions and values.