851-0585-48L Controversies in Game Theory
| Semester | Spring Semester 2021 |
| Lecturers | D. Helbing, H. Nax, H. Rauhut |
| Periodicity | non-recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Number of participants limited to 100. |
| Abstract | The mini-course 'Controversies in Game Theory' consists of 5 course units that provide an in-depth introduction to issues in game theory motivated by real-world issues related to the tensions that may result from interactions in groups, where individual and collective interests may conflict. The course integrates theory from various disciplines. |
| Learning objective | Students are encouraged to think about human interactions, and in particular in the context of game theory, in a way that is traditionally not covered in introductory game theory courses. The aim of the course is to teach students the complex conditional interdependencies in group interactions. |
| Content | The course will pay special attention to the dichotomy of cooperative vs non-cooperative game theory through the lense of the pioneering work by John von Neumann (who—which is not very well known--was an undergraduate student at ETH Zurich). We will review the main solution concepts from both fields, work with applications relying on those, and look at the “Nash program” which is a famous attempt to bridge the two. |
| Lecture notes | Slides will be provided. |
| Literature | John v Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. 1944. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Games_and_Economic_Behavior) Diekmann, Andreas: Spieltheorie. Rowohlt 2009. Dixit, Avinash K., and Susan Skeath. Games of Strategy. WW Norton & Company, 2015. Ken Binmore (1992): Fun and Games. Lexington: Heath. Camerer, Colin (2003): Behavioral Game Theory. Experiments in Strategic Interaction. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Game Theory Evolving Link Evolutionary Game Theory https://www.amazon.com/Evolutionary-Game-Theory-MIT-Press/dp/0262731215/ Evolutionary Game Theory in Natural, Social and Virtual Worlds https://www.amazon.com/Evolutionary-Natural-Social-Virtual-Worlds/dp/0199981159/ Evolutionary Dynamics and Extensive Form Games Link Evolutionary Games and Population Dynamics Link Quantitative Sociodynamics https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783642115455 Synergistic Selection: How Cooperation Has Shaped Evolution and the Rise of Humankind Link Survival of the Nicest https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Nicest-Altruism-Human-Along/dp/1615190902/ Evolutionary Games with Sociophysics Link Statistical Physics and Computational Methods for Computational Game Theory Link Games of life https://www.amazon.com/Games-Life-Explorations-Evolution-Behaviour/dp/0198547838 Further literature will be recommended in the lectures. |
| Prerequisites / Notice | This course is thought be for students in the 5th semester or above with quantitative skills and interests in modeling and computer simulation. |