ESP Biography

How do people make choices, especially if their decisions will affect not only themselves, but also each other? How do they strategise to get the best outcomes for themselves, or for everyone? Game Theory is the study that answers these questions. It has found many applications in mathematics, economics, political science and computer science. With a little bit of simple mathematics, we can obtain great insight on how people behave - or ought to behave - and strategise in a situation. This class will introduce the concepts of best response, dominant strategies and Nash equilibria. We will not only look at simple two-player games, such as the 'Prisoner's Dilemma,' 'Tit for Tat' and 'Battle of the Sexes,' but also discuss other applications of game theory that are less popularly discussed, like auctions, matching for roommates and in a "marriage market," and games over a dynamic (multi-stage) time horizon.

How do people make choices, especially if their decisions will affect not only themselves, but also each other? How do they strategise to get the best outcomes for themselves? Game Theory is the study that tries to answer these questions. It has found many applications in mathematics, economics, political science and computer science. With a little bit of simple mathematics, we can obtain great insight on how people behave - or ought to behave - and strategise in a situation. This class will introduce the concepts of best response, dominant strategies and Nash equilibria. We will not only look at simple two-player games, such as the 'Prisoner's Dilemma,' 'Tit for Tat' and 'Battle of the Sexes,' but also discuss other applications of game theory that are less popularly discussed, like auctions, matching for roommates and in a "marriage market," and games over a dynamic (multi-stage) time horizon.