game theory

     

Game theory is a branch of applie mathematics that is used in the social sciences (most notably economics), biology, political science, computer science, and philosophy. Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, in which an individual's success in making choices depends on the choices of others. While initially developed to analyze competitions in which one individual does better at another's expense (zero sum games), it has been expanded to treat a wide class of interactions, which are classified according to several criteria. Today, “game theory is a sort of umbrella or ‘unified field’ theory for the rational side of social science, where ‘social’ is interpreted broadly, to include human as well as non-human players (computers, animals, plants)” (Aumann 1987).

Trivia about game theory

  • John Nash has a beautiful mind that contributed to this "theory" of strategic decision making
  • The field called this "theory", which has influenced economics & other disciplines, was expanded at RAND in the '40s