Priests manipulating trials by fire was a feature, not a bug. A defendant's willingness to undergo the ordeal signaled their innocence to the priest. The priest, acting as 'God's instrument,' would then rig the test to ensure an acquittal, reinforcing the system's perceived divine legitimacy.
Though scientifically invalid, polygraphs function because subjects *believe* they work. This belief creates a self-sorting effect: those with something to hide are less willing to take the test, while the innocent are more willing. Information is revealed through the choice itself, not the test's results.
Knowing economic theory is insufficient for mastery. True expertise, as observed in Nobel laureate Gary Becker, is an artful, intuitive skill. It involves correctly identifying which economic model or 'tool' best explains a real-world phenomenon, a process that requires a lifetime of practice to perfect.
Despite seven years of intense training and dramatic skill improvement, Steve Levitt's quest to join the senior PGA tour was doomed. He failed to research the tour's entry rules, which heavily favor former stars, making his goal practically impossible regardless of his athletic dedication.
Peter Leeson's theory that ordeals functioned via Christian belief is supported by a secondary fact: the system was not applied to non-believers. In medieval Europe, Jews were exempt from ordeals and judged by other means. This specific exclusion validates the core hypothesis that faith was the crucial mechanism.
Ordeals were not barbaric tests but a clever sorting mechanism. Guilty defendants, believing God would ensure they were burned, would confess beforehand. Innocent defendants, believing God would protect them, willingly underwent the (often rigged) test, thus revealing their private information.
Unlike merchant ships with autocratic captains serving distant owners, pirate crews jointly owned their ventures. To align incentives and prevent abuse of power, they democratically elected officers, divided authority, and operated under written constitutions—innovating on governance decades before the United States.
When Steve Levitt, as a journal editor, published Peter Leeson's 'weird' paper on pirates, it did more than share an idea. It signaled to a generation of academics that unconventional thinking was welcome, giving them the confidence and 'permission' to pursue their own original research.