October 7th, 2008
Game Theory
Colby and I got into a discussion about game theory the other day. He had never heard of it but it’s a topic I find rather interesting. The basic outcome is being able to predict, mathematically, what decisions people will make. If you know of John Nash or saw A Beautiful Mind, John Nash was innovative in a few fields, one being game theory. I’m not sure how I got there, but one of the most intriguing articles to me was The New Nostradamus featured in Good Magazine. The article is mostly about Bruce Bueno de Mesquita who has made a computer model that can predict the outcomes of international conflict. Very interesting. Of course, if you’re looking to learn about game theory yourself you can do what I did and look into the open courseware available online for free. And now I’m going to go tape the bridge of my glasses, thanks.
Edit: Also, game theory was really apparent in the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight. Check out the Prisoner’s Dilemma then go watch the movie. Hint: Boats.