Everyday, in our day to day life, we encounter various situations where we are in a dilemma and do not know whether doing this shall be profitable to us or doing that would be. There are two approaches to tackle these kinds of problems. One is an approach via the the recently developing branch of mathematics known as 'Game Theory' and the other through the well established area of 'mind psychology'. In this article, the latter approach shall be dealt with, the author has taken great care not to dissatisfy the mathematical world yet to make it comprehensible to the common man. GAME THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION Now, in the branch of games, 'a game is defined as any interaction between agents governed by a set of rules specifying the possible moves for each participant and a set of outcomes for each possible combination of moves'. This seems perfectly good enough to resolve the various dilemmas that erupt in our lives. However there is a catch here. Game Theory assumes two facts that always do not hold true in our day-to-day lives. One, is the assumption of Common Knowledge of Rationality(CKR). The Priciple of CKR states that: that each person is always on profit and on the least oppurtunity grabs it. This assumption maybe, holds true in most cases. But, the second assumption of Consistent Alignment of Beliefs(CAB) states that all people shall come up with the same choices when faced with the same set of options. This is not always true, because one may be less cleverer than one, though the motive of all is profit, all may not have the brains to always make the right choice. However, CAB may be safe while dealing with war games where military strategists think it over and invariably most often than not make the right choice. These are the short falls of utilizing the principles of game theory in day-to-day life. However, it is still very useful while dealing with problems like economic crisis, war etc, and in a few day-to-day life circumstances. There are three classics games of game theory:
I. Hawk-dove games or chicken games
2.Co-ordination game
3.Prisoner's dilemma game. The author shall discuss each of these games and their practical applications in the forthcoming articles. |
