Game theory, prisoners’ dilemma, and Nash equilibrium
These collections of videos explain game theory – a game in which you can strategize your best move for a desired outcome. This two or more person game also evaluates your opponent’s move and how you can map both players’ corresponding outcomes mathematically. Once you have a firm understanding of how this works you can integrate game theory into a vast array of decision making scenarios for everyday living and human interaction. It is widely used in political science, economics, and related fields.
A bright college kid explains game theory basics (includes explanation of Nash equilibrium):
Here is a game theory documentary. The videos’ owner disabled the ability to incorporate them into websites like mine:
- Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzNcY-gZdiA
- Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdJUGM2mi9I
- Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsh6-GN-9Q0
- Video 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQasVtB_UOo
The prisoners’ dilemma explained:
It’s important to learn how game theory can help you in everyday life. Michael Anuzis used it to negotiate a pay raise with his boss – going from US$12 an hour to US$300 an hour. Outrageous? When you watch the video, you’ll see how the math just makes sense:
If you’d like to expand upon game theory, you can do so for free from Yale University via it’s YouTube channel. As of the time of this blog posting there are twenty-four lectures, each over an hour long. I’ve started watching them and have found them to be quite enjoyable.
And lastly, for a great film, see A Beautiful Mind with Russel Crowe. The film demonstrates how John Forbes Nash came up with the idea of what is now known as “Nash equilibrium” while contemplating the best method to pick up girls in a bar with his mates.
