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We will be writing on: A. “What is Game Theory?” B. “Describing Game Theory” C. “How Game Theory works” “What is involved with Game Theory" Foreword: This was an exciting and mind-opening research project, and I really learned a lot from it. While difficult to choose what to say, and more importantly how to say it, I found the web site gametheory.net, which had a ton of information and where I got most of my information. I will be using quite a lot of passages from this site however, as it is worded better then I ever could. These passages will be following by parenthetical references that site exactly where I got them. I don’t know if this is necessary for a math research paper, but it is how the AP style book requires it, so that is how I will be doing it. Game Theory: Game theory is an awesome yet distinctively hard to explain method of mathematics that has been used for thousands of years but has only recently come to our attention as a great type of math to use when approaching decisions that are otherwise impossible to reach. The actual first well-know and publicized book was written by John Von Neumann, who was a great mathematician, and known for the founding of the theory, named The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. He wrote this in collaboration with another great mathematician who was also an economist by the now well-known name of Oskar Morgenstern in 1944. How to describe game theory? It is very hard to describe it, so the following is the best explanation I can give. Game theory is a distinct and interdisciplinary approach to the study of human behavior. The disciplines most involved in game theory are mathematics, economics and the other social and behavioral sciences. (Strategy and Conflict: An Introductory Sketch of Game Theory. Taken on March 13th, 2003. http://william-king.www.drexel.edu/top/eco /game/game.html) Now the theory of games in no one theory at all, but many, now in game theory, like in regular games, there are players, always more then one, and these players must make decisions that will affect the outcome, whether it is a reward or punishment. With just two people involved in the game, it is rather simple to predict the outcome, the more players get included, the more complex the game grows, and it becomes almost impossible to give answers to the questions that the game is imposing. These questions generally are, how should the players behave? And what should the ultimate outcome of the game? To answer these questions of course, is the solution of the game. So there we have the basic outline of what game theorists have to play around with. Game theory is not only related to war and games, it is also linked largely to economics. This shouldn’t be so surprising since one of the original theorists mentioned above was one of the leading economists of his time. People ask how math is related to our economy. This is tricky, as there are several problems that make it difficult to put many economic problems in game farm. Firstly, it is hard to specify precisely the strategy that is supposed to be made available to the players, and the resolutions of the final problem is obviously debatable, as what one player might consider good and well, the other player or players might consider unfair.
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