Game theory Gaming is serious Life as a game Commentary

John von Neumann, Oskar Morgenstern game theory

Game theory

• Von Neumann and Morgenstern’s theory of games
• is also a theory of economic, political, and military behavior.
• It establishes optimal strategies
• in competitive and cooperative situations
• such as whether a prisoner should rat on his collaborator,
• or whether President Kennedy should have threatened
• to nuke Russia and invade Cuba.

Gaming is serious

• According to von Neumann,
• economists should use convex sets
• and the topological fixed-point theorem,
• but of course, at the time, economists
• didn’t know shit about convex sets
• and the topological fixed-point theorem.
• In fact today economists
• have trouble competing with monkeys
• throwing darts.
• How can this be
• when they are fooling
• with other people’s life savings?
• And don’t get me started on whether
• politicians and generals use optimal strategies
• instead of just trying to look good.

Life as a game

• With the right attitude
• challenges are fun.
• Two can convert
• zero-sum to win-win
• and stay a step ahead
• to beat the band.
• “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da,
• life goes on, bra!”