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Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond

Learn how to apply the precepts of game theory to help you make better decisions at work, home, or anywhere with this highly useful course taught by an award-winning professor.
 
 
Rated 2 out of 5 by from Can't quite get it. I am having trouble understanding this guy. I seem to be stuck in lesson #3. Is it me or him (the instructor). He seems to be going too fast and do I get the sense that he's a little full of himself. A little about me- I have taught Calculus 1,2,3 and Physics on the college level. I have a graduate degree in Physics. Yes, I'm having trouble with this course if you can believe it. The book and transcript which come with this course leave out the diagrams which he spends a lot of time on. Wish they didn't do that. I will try to slog ahead as my wife thinks I'm over-thinking this, but I'm not so sure I would recommend this up to now. I'll try to update this review if I get there.
Date published: 2024-09-09
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent Introduction into the topic! Prof. Stevens introduces you into the complicated world of game theory in a logical and insightful manner. Examples are clear and relatable.
Date published: 2022-04-28
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, I like how The Great Courses builds upon the theme of the subject matter for a better and complete understanding. Although Game theory is now accepted upon the general public, it has always been with those that did not give it it's unique name. Much of the material was put together in a very organized method.
Date published: 2022-03-04
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Game theory is about all the interactions we have. I bought this because I knew game theory involved much more than games or in other words it is about all the interactions people, companies, countries, investors, competitors, etc. have with each other and how to best achieve success or avoid disasters. Prof. Stevens does a great job explaining all these complicated multiple concepts. A few times I really had to study some of his graphics to understand something in them that escaped me. Possibly replay what he said to understand what did not make sense to me at first. But it all did after some effort. He did explain everything but sometimes I missed a part of what he said.
Date published: 2022-02-20
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great Intro to a Young Field of Study This is best resource in the self learning market on the subject of Game Theory. Dr. Stephens connects with the viewer as if he is a friend. I do have to repeat watching the lectures, but that is the beauty of the GC.
Date published: 2021-12-17
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Hyper Intelligent Master This magnificent man explained Game Theory easily.
Date published: 2021-10-26
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great lecture. The lecturer gives an interesting and comprehensive course on game theory.
Date published: 2021-08-23
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A great course very well taught This course delves into more than an introduction. It provided detail understanding of modern game theory, while explaining it clearly.
Date published: 2021-05-10
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Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond

Trailer

The World of Game Theory

01: The World of Game Theory

"Games" apply to all aspects of life. You're introduced to the subject with a perplexing dilemma, a brief history of the field, and some of its applications, and the three fundamental components of any game: players, strategies, and payoffs.

33 min
The Nature of the Game

02: The Nature of the Game

You gain a deeper insight into the essential building blocks of players, strategies, and payoffs-most of them more complex and subtle than they might appear-along with two new concepts, rationality and common sense.

30 min
The Real Life Chessboard-Sequential Games

03: The Real Life Chessboard-Sequential Games

In seeking the optimal strategies for games in which players take turns and where the full history of the game is known to all, you learn how to construct a "game tree" and are introduced to one of game theory's key concepts: the Nash equilibrium.

31 min
Life's Little Games-The 2 x 2 Classic Games

04: Life's Little Games-The 2 x 2 Classic Games

You examine four classic two-player games, with each player considering his or her own two choices. Simple though they may be, these games appear at the heart of larger, more complicated games and provide important insights into dealing effectively with others.

31 min
Guessing Right-Simultaneous Move Games

05: Guessing Right-Simultaneous Move Games

You learn a general way of representing simultaneous-move games-where players make decisions without knowing those of others-and acquire valuable tools to solve them. Military and business examples are used to introduce the minimax approach, the iterated elimination of dominated strategies, and the best response method.

30 min
Practical Applications of Game Theory

06: Practical Applications of Game Theory

Applying what you've learned, you see how a stock bid of $98 can beat one of $102; how insisting you lose a competition can be a winning strategy; and why being blackmailed can be in your best interest....

31 min
A Random Walk-Dealing with Chance Events

07: A Random Walk-Dealing with Chance Events

Many games include aspects that depend on random chance. Probability theory addresses such uncertainties. Using a simultaneous, two-player game, Professor Stevens shows you how to use probability to define the expected (or average) value of a payoff in an uncertain situation.

31 min
Pure Competition-Constant-Sum Games

08: Pure Competition-Constant-Sum Games

Can you escape the second-guessing that arises when each player in a two-person game tries to anticipate the other's choice? You learn how every such game, no matter how apparently hopeless, has at least one Nash equilibrium point.

31 min
Mixed Strategies and Nonzero-Sum Games

09: Mixed Strategies and Nonzero-Sum Games

How should we think about mixed strategies? What makes a given strategy "best"? Is there an easy way to determine if a set of strategies is optimal? You explore these questions from a more intuitive perspective and learn how to use the techniques of Lecture 8 in nonzero-sum games.

30 min
Threats, Promises, and Commitments

10: Threats, Promises, and Commitments

Can you gain an advantage by moving before, the game begins? Such actions, called "strategic moves," can be both effective and dangerous. You learn the three categories of strategic moves-commitments, threats, and promises-and the essential requirement for their success: credibility....

30 min
Credibility, Deterrence, and Compellence

11: Credibility, Deterrence, and Compellence

This lecture explains how a player best gains credibility for a threat, promise, or commitment and also explores how these strategic moves are most commonly and advantageously used for deterrence (meant to maintain the status quo) and compellence (meant to change it)....

31 min
Incomplete and Imperfect Information

12: Incomplete and Imperfect Information

What if some events or decisions are known to only one player? This lecture explores such games of asymmetric information and introduces you to a clever means of analyzing such a game.

30 min
Whom Can You Trust?-Signaling and Screening

13: Whom Can You Trust?-Signaling and Screening

This lecture uses examples from mythology, the animal world, movies, card games, and real life to show you how players in a game of asymmetric information try to convey information, elicit it, or guard it.

31 min
Encouraging Productivity-Incentive Schemes

14: Encouraging Productivity-Incentive Schemes

How do you get others to do what you want them to do, whether in business, politics, international relations, or daily life? You learn how players create an alignment between the behavior they desire and the rewards other players receive and examine what can be done when the behavior being addressed is not directly observable.

31 min
The Persistence of Memory-Repeated Games

15: The Persistence of Memory-Repeated Games

Although the games so far have been simplified examples assuming no previous or subsequent interactions, real-life games generally don't work that way. This lecture uses an iterated game of Prisoner's Dilemma to examine the impact of repeated interactions on determining optimal strategy....

30 min
Does This Stuff Really Work?

16: Does This Stuff Really Work?

Can game theory accurately model real-world behavior? You examine some reasons that its track record for predicting behavior in some designed experiments and some observed behavior has been mixed.

31 min
The Tragedy of the Commons

17: The Tragedy of the Commons

You explore what is essentially a many-player version of Prisoner's Dilemma. Each player's self-interested choices ironically contribute to a social dilemma in which every player suffers, in a scenario equally applicable to topics as diverse as global warming, traffic congestion, and the use of almost any nonrenewable resource....

30 min
Games in Motion-Evolutionary Game Theory

18: Games in Motion-Evolutionary Game Theory

Classical game theory relies heavily on the assumption of rationality. This lecture examines an evolutionary perspective, in which successful strategies are "selected for" and propagate through time.

31 min
Game Theory and Economics-Oligopolies

19: Game Theory and Economics-Oligopolies

You explore how game theory is used in economics-a discipline in which five Nobel Prize winners have been game theorists-by seeing how a monopolist determines optimum production levels and how other competitors affect the situation.

30 min
Voting-Determining the Will of the People

20: Voting-Determining the Will of the People

Can game theory evaluate voting systems? You apply what you've learned to several approaches and encounter a theory that no system ranking the candidates can avoid serious problems before you move on to two alternatives that might.

31 min
Auctions and the Winner's Curse

21: Auctions and the Winner's Curse

Auctions play a significant role in our lives, affecting the ownership of radio frequencies, the flow of goods over the Internet, and even the results produced by search engines. This lecture discusses some important categories of auctions and examines which is best for buyer and seller.

31 min
Bargaining and Cooperative Games

22: Bargaining and Cooperative Games

Cooperative games are ones in which players may join in binding agreements. But how do you identify a division of the payoffs that is reasonable and fair? And what mechanisms persuade members of a coalition to accept their allotment?

30 min
Game Theory and Business-Co-opetition

23: Game Theory and Business-Co-opetition

In the first of two lectures on Brandenberger's and Nalebuff's practical application of game theory to business decision making, you learn how to construct an analytic schematic of key relationships and discuss the impact of both players and the concept of added value.

31 min
All the World's a Game

24: All the World's a Game

You complete your introduction to co-opetition by adding the concept of rules, tactics, and scope to the plays and added value before examining the materials in a broader context, particularly the relevance of game theory to our daily lives.

31 min

Overview Course No. 1426

Ever since modern game theory—the scientific study of interactive, rational decision making—achieved prominence in the mid-20th century, it has proven instrumental in helping us understand how and why we make decisions. Game theory plays a crucial role in our lives and provides startling insights into all endeavors in which humans cooperate or compete, including biology, computer science, politics, agriculture, and, most importantly, economics.

For example, game theory

  • has become an invaluable tool for economists, underpinning the theories of five Nobel Prize winners in economics;
  • helps corporate decision makers through the alternatives of complex negotiations where thousands of jobs and billions of dollars may be at stake;
  • plays a crucial role in international diplomacy and military strategy, influencing the fates of nations even when that influence may well be invisible to the uninitiated; and
  • provides insights into the origins of human behaviors, not only for psychologists seeking to understand why we act as we do, but also for evolutionary biologists asking how those patterns of actions—as human strategies—were handed down.

You can even see game theory at work in the interactions you engage in every day, such as an obvious "game," like buying a car, or a less obvious one, like trying to decide where to go on a Saturday night or how you ought to dress.

A basic working knowledge of this profoundly important tool can help us cut through an often confusing clutter of information—allowing us to make better decisions in our own lives or better understand the decisions facing other players in games. In Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond, award-winning Professor Scott P. Stevens of James Madison University has designed a course meant for anyone looking to gain that knowledge. In 24 insightful lectures, he presents you with the fundamentals of game theory in a manner that is both engaging and easy to understand.

About

Scott P. Stevens
Scott P. Stevens

If you keep your eyes and mind open, you're going to find a lot of other places that our ideas apply.

INSTITUTION

James Madison University
Dr. Scott P. Stevens is Professor of Computer Information Systems and Management Science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he has taught since 1984. Professor Stevens holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University, where he received B.S. degrees in both Mathematics and Physics and graduated first in his class in the College of Science. Honored many times over for his remarkable abilities in the classroom, Professor Stevens has been a recipient of the Carl Harter Award, his university's highest teaching award; been named the outstanding graduate teacher in JMU's M.B.A. program; and has on five occasions been selected by students as the outstanding teacher in JMU's undergraduate business program, the first teacher to be so honored. A frequent consultant in the business arena, Professor Stevens has been published in a broad variety of academic and professional journals, writing or collaborating on subjects as varied as neural network prediction of survival in blunt-injured trauma patients; the effect of private school competition on public schools; standards of ethical computer usage in different countries; automatic data collection in business; and optimization of the purchase, transportation, and deliverability of natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico.

By This Professor

Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond
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Mathematical Decision Making: Predictive Models and Optimization
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