On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:56:04 -0400 Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
writes:
> [game theory always struck me as mostly empty wankery - can someone
> convince me to the contrary? not to be too literal-minded, but what
> town has five identical tire stores, anyway?]
As I understand it, the neoclassical economists have been using game theory to study such things as the behaviors of oligoloplies and cartels, where the equilibrium model based on assumptions of perfect competition and perfect information clearly do not apply.
Also, as the Chronicle of Higher Education article points out, game theory has become popular among political scientists and scholars of international relations. Herman Kahn was in his time a noted popularizer of the application of game theory to problems of nuclear defense strategy, see his *On Thermonuclear War*, and our old friend, Dr. Henry Kissinger, was one of the popularizers of the application of game theory to international relations, such as in his book, *Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy*. Both Kahn and Kissinger drew upon the work of Schelling's work. It's interesting that the Chronicle of Higher Education article makes mention of Stanley Kubrick's film "Dr. Strangelove," since the Dr. Strangelove character was said to be based on a composite of several people including Kissinger, Kahn, Dr. Edward Teller, and one or two other folk. Kissinger's infamous "mad man" theory was inspired by Schelling's work (Daniel Ellsberg commented briefly on this in passing at: www.abc.net.au/rn/history/hindsight/features/torn/episode3.htm
Also, if Justin wasn't so busy arguing in court or writing briefs, he probably would point out the role that game theory played in the development of Analytical Marxism, particularly in the work of John Roemer.
>
> Chronicle of Higher Education - web daily - October 10, 2005
>
> Nobel Prize in Economics Goes to 2 Scholars Who Developed Game
> Theory
> as Analytical Tool in Public Policy
>
> By DAVID GLENN
>
> The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was awarded this