How do survive in crowded eateries on campus?
After reading the article “Definitive Rankings of All Eateries on Campus”, it is not surprising for me to find that the common thread among the highly ranked restaurants (such as Trillium, Temple of Zeus, and Terrace) was that almost all reviews mentioned “crowded”. I can completely relate that to my experience: at good restaurants, we often have to wait a long time for food and even can’t find a seat – so we choose to either eat standing up or take our food to go. Each time, I wonder: Should I come to the restaurant earlier next time (rushing after class!), or would I get the best experience by coming later to avoid the crowds? I find that this problem can be explained using game theory as we talked about in class. The strategies students A and B may take include going early (E) and going late (L).
Payoff Matrix:
The mixed strategy for A is (E, L) = (1, 0) while the mixed strategy for B is (E, L) = (1, 0). According to game theory, we should go to the restaurant as early as we can. The earlier we arrive, the greater the payoff (if possible, try to be the first one there :)). Specifically, if we choose to go early we will have more choices, while if someone else happens to go late, not only will there be more choices, but there will be fewer people in line (payoff =2). However, if we choose to go late, even if we can sometimes avoid the crowds, if someone else happens to go late, not only do we have to wait in line for a long time, but we also have fewer options for dinner.
Read the following article if you want to know the ranking of eateries (by Cornell Sun).