We are all Prisoners: The Prisoner’s Dilemma
As we learn about Game Theory, one of the most important and famous concepts is the prisoner’s dilemma. The concept is fairly straightforward: there are two parties who each have the option to cooperate or to defect; if one side cooperates and the other side defects, the side that cooperated is punished severely and the […]
The Word-of-Mouth Epidemic
http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/tp_excerpt2.html The Tipping Point explores how ideas, trends, or social behavior can spread like wildfire. One major component in starting a “social epidemic”, such as a fashion trend, or the popularity of a new product, is by word-of-mouth. No matter how expensive a marketing or advertising campaign, word of mouth is the most important form […]
Taking Off the Suit: How Social Media and Growing Networks Have Humbled Corporations and Giants
Remember when “Marketing” was going door to door in a neighborhood to pitch your product? The term has taken on a completely different meaning: marketing and PR teams now sit at computer desks to use social media accounts, write on blogs, and try to game Google’s search page rankings – Quite the far cry from […]
A Common Enemy
Arabs and Jews have always had a great deal of tension between each other. The best example of this constant fight would be the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Their close proximity and stark religious differences have caused for years of animosity. However, this may all soon change as time progresses and other countries develop. […]
MLS out of touch?
The American culture is a diverse and contradictory field ranging from greasy food, strict diets, liberal ideology, conservative politics, baggy clothing and tight fitted clothing. Although there is a vast array of fields within the American culture, many, if not all, Americans can concur that sports play a significant role in shaping the culture in […]
Hierarchy of Hungry Cannibals
“Hierarchy of Hungry Cannibals,” a game theory puzzle proposed by economics blogger Austin Frakt, illustrates a concept that we have not covered in class: the concept of “backward induction”. The game has a fairly complicated setup, and as such may not have too many practical applications to real-life situations, but nevertheless is very interesting. The […]
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