How does Google Maps work?
Google Maps helps millions of people get from point A to point B seamlessly everyday. So how does it work? As the article explains, it is actually a graph theory problem. Think of your current position as a node and your destination as another node, and then there are many other nodes in between your current position and […]
Using Game Theory to model Iran’s Nuclear Crisis
With the recent signing of the Iran Nuclear Deal arises the irrational fear that Iran will soon develop and point ICBMs at the United States. Media outlets are more than keen on exploiting this concern to stay relevant and politicians are more than keen on using this issue as a debate platform. So how likely […]
How to improve your return game in tennis – Predicting serve direction using game theory
We can see with this article that tennis matches can attempt to be predicted using complex game theory and Markov Chain model from statistics of players’ serves from previous matches such as the match between Andy Roddick and Younes Al Yanaoui during the 2003 Australian Open. However, we can use even simpler game theory to […]
Village MD: A Potential Solution to the Doctor-Patient Prisoner’s Dilemma
In the media today, it seems like there are two groups of people in the field of healthcare that constantly clash against each other, like a bitterly-married elderly couple trying to out-shout the other spouse, and they’re known as patients and doctors respectively. It seems like we all hear stories from our daily lives or […]
The Absurdity of Art Auctions
Some of the most well-known pieces of art go up for auction in the most exciting auctions, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Extremely wealthy bidders seem to have no limit for what they will pay to have their hands on “priceless art”. With pieces of art fetching tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars today, what […]
How to beat anyone at Rock-Paper-Scissors
According Zhilijan’s experiment, winning players tend to use their winning strategy again, while losers tend to change to the next strategy in the sequence of rock-paper scissors, “persistent cyclic flows.” Player A and Player B will use random strategies to start the game. [Player A – Rock & Player B – Paper] – Player A […]
Focal Points and Political Game Theory
While watching the Republican debate last week, I couldn’t help but realize how applicable game theory is when talking about politics. Two uses immediately came to mind: the strategy behind how politicians approach each debate, and the strategy behind how voters choose which candidate to vote for. A recent Washington Post article talks about the […]
Coffee Killer
For many around the world, coffee is an instrumental part of their day. Major companies like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts rely heavily on coffee revenue. In this article, William Foreman outlines the work of John Vandameer and his research partner Ivette Perfecto, which significantly impacts the coffee market. Their research is on the fungus la […]
Game Theory and Politricks
Washington Post article, What game theory tells us about Wednesday’s debate and the Republican primary, briefed its readers on the strategy behind Republican debates. According to the article, people do not vote ‘sincerely,’ instead, they choose from the candidates they believe are more likely to win the general election. Though I was able to conceptualize this idea, […]
Prisoner’s dilemma and game shows
Variation of prisoner’s dilemma is used in several games shows: In Golden Balls, the rules are: After five balls have been won, the contestants make one last decision to determine the final jackpot division. Each contestant chooses one of two final golden balls, one with “Split” printed on the cash background inside it, and one […]
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