Lawler's Rule

Back after some international trips and blogger malfunctions.

The WSJ has a great story about a Japanese businessman using Rocks, Paper, Scissors to determine the outcome of a business deal.

The highest end of the art market is fiendishly competitive, and especially so as the two auctioneers fight over a dwindling supply of classic Impressionist paintings. Each offered lavish proposals. But they were so similar, says the 74-year-old Mr. Hashiyama, that he couldn't pick a winner. He initially asked the two archrivals to decide between themselves who would get the Cezanne. That idea didn't fly. So Mr. Hashiyama informed Christie's and Sotheby's that they would play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to break the tie, a method he had used many times in the past to determine important business deals

The employee returned with the ballots. Christie's had picked scissors. Sotheby's picked paper. Per the game's rules, which automatically determine a winner -- paper covers rock, rock smashes scissors, scissors cut paper -- Christie's scissors triumphed over Sotheby's paper.
Christie's declined to say why it ultimately picked scissors. A Sotheby's spokesman said, "Sotheby's never comments on collections it is not offering for sale."

the relevant link