Playing for keeps

Sigmund, K. & Nowak, M.A. (2000). Playing for keeps. Science 290 (5490) 10.1126/science.290.5490.281.

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Abstract

Margaret Thatcher's famous quip that there is no such thing as society gives a foreshortened version of methodological individualism, the atomic hypothesis of the social sciences. The mathematical underpinning for explaining the behavior of interacting individuals guided by their own, often opposing interests is game theory, so named because parlor games such as chess and poker offer the earliest abstractions of conflicts. This evocative term certainly proved to be a major asset in product people are more willing to hear about game theory than, say, stochastic but it entailed several costs. One drawback is that game theorists often find themselves forced to explain why they fail to do better at card tables or playing boards. It is for the same reason that students of physics are not any better at billiards: working out basic laws yields insight, not proficiency...

Item Type:	Article
Research Programs:	Adaptive Dynamics Network (ADN)
Bibliographic Reference:	Science; 290(5490):281 (13 October 2000)
Depositing User:	IIASA Import
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2016 02:11
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 17:37
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/5977

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