What's the Book?
Here is Mike with more about the book:
Game Theory in the Age of Chaos is a 532-page book of 65 essays about game theory and politics. Every day since Donald Trump got elected, I’ve fought the urge to scream at the internet. Instead, I channeled that howling into a series of essays showing how game theory explains and justifies the behavior of all the actors in the system: Trump, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Supreme Court, and most of all, people like us. By taking a deep breath, remaining level-headed, and letting my grasp of game science do its work, I’ve connected with my readers on Medium, and had my essays shared all over the world. We made a small book in 2018 to raise funds for Democrats. Now, as we count down the last weeks of this election, I’ve compiled a massive new omnibus edition, with forty new essays by me and supporting pieces from Rich Malena-Webber, plus an all-new foreword from game enthusiast and Washington senator Steve Hobbs. It’s quite the book, I think.
The book is done. We sent it to the printer last week. They’re putting the finishing touches on it now. In fact, you can read all of it below. Go ahead, flip through it. If you like it, get yourself a copy.
Here’s Rich talking about why game theory matters.
Mathematicians have spent thousands of years developing tools to understand and uncover the world around us. From simple geometry to the intricacies of astrophysics, the truths to be found in mathematical theory and logic give us certainty in a complex universe. And yet, I always find myself constantly surrounded by students asking “When am I ever going to use math in the real world?” That’s when I bring my class to a screeching halt and introduce them to game theory.
Game Theory takes the very best tools of mathematics and applies them directly to human conflict. Instead of focusing on parallelograms and polynomials, game theory looks at player interactions by considering the payoffs of every possible outcome. Students don’t learn these concepts so much as they realize how these theories have already come up in their own lives. They remember making sibling compromises about chores or punishments after breaking the rules. These students are then able to turn their eyes from introspection to the outer world.
There is no game theory arena more ripe for study than modern politics. The stakes are clear. The consequences are dire. The strategies are obvious. Through analysis, we can look past smiles and campaign promises to consider what our leaders want and what they are doing. The last four years provide the perfect opportunity to study selfishness, graft, and institutional corruption with a Machiavellian level of callous disdain for truth and transparency.
Game Theory in the Age of Chaos isn’t just a summary of four years of chaos. It’s a mathematical toolset that will help you analyze the political chaos of our divided nation in the aftermath of 2020.