Game Theory: An Introduction, 2nd Edition

Introduction

Mostly for the Instructor

My goal is to present the basic concepts of noncooperative and cooperative game theory and expose students to a very important application of mathematics. In addition, this course introduces students to an understandable theory created by geniuses in many different fields that even today has a low cost of entry.

My experience is that the students who enroll in game theory are primarily mathematics students interested in applications, with about one-third to one-half of the class majoring in economics or other disciplines (such as biology or biochemistry or physics). The modern economics and operations research curriculum requires more and more mathematics, and game theory is typically a required course in those fields. For economics students with a more mathematical background, this course is set at an ideal level. For mathematics students interested in a graduate degree in something other than mathematics, this course exposes them to another discipline in which they might develop an interest and that will enable them to further their studies, or simply to learn some fun mathematics. Many students get the impression that applied mathematics is physics or engineering, and this class shows that there are other areas of applications that are very interesting and that opens up many other alternatives to a pure math or classical applied mathematics concentration.

Game theory can be divided into two broad classifications: noncooperative and cooperative. ...