Fancy Store-Bought Dirt

Simpsons Playoff Result #1-16

1. Lisa on Ice
2. Separate Vocations
3. Last Exit to Springfield
4. Homer's Phobia

Now is as good a time as any to mention that I'm trying to learn more about preferential balloting, just because it dovetails with the rest of my schedule-geek knowledge set.

In the first stage of this Simpsons thing I almost always just averaged the rankings. I'd have avoided doing that if (for example) somebody spitefully ranked an obviously good episode dead last, though I don't remember that ever happening. In any case, if you just averaged the rankings, this one came out Ice 1.75, Vocations 2, Exit 2.5, Phobia 3.75.

Here of course we care a lot more about what comes out on top than the rest of the ordering. Vocations got 2 first-pace votes, 1 each for Ice and Exit. Throwing out Phobia doesn't change anything. I idly wondered how preferential balloting systems handle ties. Of the rules cited on the link, the one labeled "First Round" seems more equitable to me than the one labeled "All" (to say nothing of "Random" or "Order").

Counting what I posted myself, "Separate Vocations" and "Lisa on Ice" are in a dead heat. Take myself out and it's "Lisa on Ice." I'm surprised I listed those two in the order that I did, though David is absolutely right that the ending doesn't live up to the rest of the episode. Even so, the order you see above seems most appropriate. If you disagree, now is exactly the time to do something about it. (Or rather, however long it takes for me to get up the next post or two.)