Game Changers: Stories of the Revolutionary Minds behind Game Theory

Synopsis

In This Lively History Of Game Theory, A Gifted Math Educator And Science Writer Explains For Lay Readers The Uses And Value Of This Innovative Yet Easy-to-understand Approach To Mathematical Modeling. Essentially, Game Theory Interprets Life As A Game With Mathematical Rules. By Following The Rules, Decisions Can Be Calculated That Result In The Greatest Benefit For All Participants. The Author Takes The Reader From The 17th Century Through The Cold War To Today's Age Of Turbo Capitalism. Along The Way He Introduces Such Leading Contributors As Blaise Pascal In The 17th Century, Who Invented The Theory Of Probability; Ludwig Wittgenstein In The 20th Century, Who Conceived Of The World As A Play Of Words; John Nash (the Subject Of A Beautiful Mind) In The 1950s, Who Laid The Foundation Of Modern Game Theory; And Today's Practitioners Who Apply The Theory To Global Finance And Military Strategy. As The Author Shows, Game Theory Is More Than A Type Of Cost-benefit Analysis; Ultimately, It Is A Quest For Meaning-- A Professor Of Mathematics And Popular Science Writer Makes Game Theory Understandable To Lay Readers In This Lively History Of The Theory's Evolution, Including Profiles Of Its Leading Contributors-- The Players -- Acknowledgments : Vienna, 2017 -- Playing With Water And Diamonds : Vienna, Between 1870 And 1928 -- Playing With Chalk : Vienna, 1921 -- Playing With Numbers : Lyon, 1612 -- Playing With Chance : Port Royal Des Champs, Near Paris, 1655 -- Playing With Times : Philadelphia, 1746 Amsterdam, 1636-1637 -- Playing With A System : Paris And Port Royal Des Champs, 1659 St. Petersburg, 1738 -- Playing With Scholars : Vienna, Between 1921 And 1934 -- Playing With Two Cards : Princeton, New Jersey, 1938 -- Playing With Life And Death : Budapest, 1908 Princeton, New Jersey, Between 1929 And 1957 -- Playing With Chickens And Lions : Princeton, New Jersey 1949 -- Playing With Prisoners : Stanford, Near Palo Alto, California, 1949 -- Playing With Profit : Berkeley, Near San Francisco, California, 1980 -- Playing With The Police : Vienna, 2002 -- Playing With Information : New York City, 1990 -- Playing With Language : Cambridget, Between 1928 And 1946 -- Playing With Emotions : Ios, Around 850 Bce Barcelona, 2014, Rome, 1900 Vienna, 1786 -- Playing With Existence : Paris, 1662. Rudolf Taschner ; English Translation By Brian Taylor. Originally Published As Die Mathematik Des Daseins By Carl Hanser Verlag Gmbh & Co. Kg, Munich, 2015. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.