Dear Colleagues:
When I originally decided to teach an undergraduate game
theory course, it was clear that the class should appeal
to the “usual suspects”--majors in economics/
business and political science/international relations.
However, I also wanted to explore a wider expanse of strategic
situations, including those that arise in history, literature,
sports, crime, theology, war, biology, and everyday life.
I was sure that a course spanning the universe of human
interactions would surely appeal to a broad spectrum of
college students; and now, after teaching the course for
years, I am convinced that game theory deserves a place
in a general liberal arts education.
Of course, there are challenges in making a game theory
course “work” for the wide range of college
majors. Although students have a common desire to learn
about strategic reasoning, they differ tremendously in their
mathematics comfort zone. The ideal textbook must be accessible
to those students who have avoided math since high school,
but it must not compromise on concepts, lest the better
prepared students feel cheated. A related challenge is conveying
these concepts while maintaining students’ enthusiasm
for the subject. Most students are not intrinsically enamored
with the mathematics of game theory, but they are
entranced by the power of game theory when it is applied
to understanding human behavior.
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