Games are everywhere: Drivers maneuvering in heavy traffic are playing a
driving game. Bargain hunters bidding on eBay are playing an auctioning
game. The supermarket's price for corn flakes is decided by playing an
economic game. This Very Short Introduction offers a succinct tour of
the fascinating world of game theory, a groundbreaking field that
analyzes how to play games in a rational way. Ken Binmore, a renowned
game theorist, explains the theory in a way that is both entertaining
and non-mathematical yet also deeply insightful, revealing how game
theory can shed light on everything from social gatherings, to ethical
decision-making, to successful card-playing strategies, to calculating
the sex ratio among bees.
With mini biographies of many fascinating, and occasionally eccentric,
founders of the subject--including John Nash, subject of the movie A
Beautiful Mind--this book offers a concise overview of a cutting-edge
field that has seen spectacular successes in evolutionary biology and
economics, and is beginning to revolutionize other disciplines from
psychology to political science.