I have always been perplexed by Game Theory and know very little about it. That is why I am interested in learning more about it. So when I learned that a course on the subject was being offered at the Harvard Summer School, I decided to go check it out. Yesterday, I attended the first class and learned a few things about Game Theory.

I had always thought that Game Theory is just another form of probability; but it is not. Here's the distinction that I learned yesterday: Game Theory is applied to a game of strategy like chess and poker as Probability Theory is applied to a game of chance like roulette. It makes perfect sense after the professor mentioned it. The professor lectured most of the session before ending the class by playing a modified form of the prisoner's dilenma to illustrate the concept of game equilibria. After the game, I can see why Game Theory is an integral part of a negotiation course - something that I plan to take next semester. After all, negotiation process is a calculated game of choices that can lead to optimal behavior that benefits all negotiating parties. Appropriately, Game Theory can be applied in such situation. However, as the instructor has explicitly stated yesterday that learning Game Theory does make you a better player as it does not tell you how you should play the game but rather it tells you how rational players will behave or real players actually behave.

The lecturer for this class is Robert Neugeboren who is clear and concise in his instruction. Game Theory is an interesting topic; unfortunately, I decided not register for the class since I am seriously tied up with a summer course and a thesis project at MIT already. I really don't have time for another class. I just have to defer learning this subject till the fall semester when I sign up for a negotiation class or a Game Theory class.

6/29/2006 12:44:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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