Game Theory Evolving [Paperback]

Herbert Gintis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691009430 | ISBN-13: 978-0691009438 | Publication Date: May 22, 2000

The study of strategic action (game theory) is moving from a formal science of rational behavior to an evolutionary tool kit for studying behavior in a broad array of social settings. In this problem-oriented introduction to the field, Herbert Gintis exposes students to the techniques and applications of game theory through a wealth of sophisticated and surprisingly fun-to-solve problems involving human (and even animal) behavior.

Game Theory Evolving is innovative in several ways. First, it reflects game theory's expansion into such areas as cooperation in teams, networks, the evolution and diffusion of preferences, the connection between biology and economics, artificial life simulations, and experimental economics. Second, the book--recognizing that students learn by doing and that most game theory texts are weak on problems--is organized around problems, and introduces principles through practice. Finally, the quality of the problems is simply unsurpassed, and each chapter provides a study plan for instructors interested in teaching evolutionary game theory.

Reflecting the growing consensus that in many important contexts outside of anonymous markets, human behavior is not well described by classical "rationality," Gintis shows students how to apply game theory to model how people behave in ways that reflect the special nature of human sociality and individuality. This book is perfect for upper undergraduate and graduate economics courses as well as a terrific introduction for ambitious do-it-yourselfers throughout the behavioral sciences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gintis has wholeheartedly embraced the evolutionary approach to games. . .The author is an accomplished economist raised in the classical mold, and his background shown in many aspects of the book . . . He himself has important things to say . . . .
(Karl Sigmund Science )

Review

Mathematically rigorous, computationally adroit, rich in illuminating problems, and engagingly written, Game Theory Evolving will be invaluable to students and researchers across the social sciences.
(Joshua M. Epstein, The Brookings Institution and Santa Fe Institute )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691009430
• ISBN-13: 978-0691009438
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,337,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic toolkit for the evolutionary study of social behavior, February 17, 2001

By 

Todd I. Stark "Cellular Wetware plus Books" (Philadelphia, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Game Theory Evolving (Paperback)

Herb Gintis is an economist with a strong interest in the assumptions we make about human rationality in our social, political, and economic theories. He has produced a remarkable and deceptively innovative text that could productively be used in a broad range of fields.

The topic of game theory is interesting to many people because it describes interaction between competitors, presumably helping us pick the best strategy if the circumstances are well enough understood. We might wonder whether the circumstances are well enough understood in daily life to apply the methods of game theory to our own choices, since it usually to assume that we are rational competitors trying to maximize our own gain.

Game Theory Evolving addresses this fascinating question not from a theoretical perspective so much as giving the reader the tools for investigating it themselves in two distinct but complementary ways.

First, it provides practical problem-oriented chapters for learning the principles and thinking in terms of game theoretic methods. The problems are not the usual textbook "who cares, anyway ?" type. Rather they are fun and interesting to solve and often lead to direct insights into real situations.

Second, it extends game theory into the realm of evolutionary thinking, so we not only understand strategic action but we get some deeper insight into how our historical needs shaped our behavior and even our thought processes. Game theory may help explain how we learned to cooperate and why under some conditions we tend to punish cheaters and treat people fairly even though it provides no apparent advantage to us.

Disguised as a lowly academic textbook, Game Theory Evolving is actually a basic toolkit, a passport into the remarkable modern study of evolutionary thinking about human nature, through a practical grounding in the mathematical techniques that have the potential to join our understanding of social sciences and biology.

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first problem-oriented book in Game Theory, July 22, 2000

By 

Manuel A Ferreira - See all my reviews

This review is from: Game Theory Evolving (Paperback)

Game Theory has to be taught with a strong enphasis on the developing the problem solving capabilities of the students, Nevertheless, the books you can find out there are very strong in the math and the theory but weak, incomplete, and poor in the problems. This is the first book I could find where the enphasis is made on the problems and on developing the capacities of the reader/student in the field, not just for theoretical purposes, where problems are more than useful, but also in the empirical aplications of game theory. Theory in this book emerges from the problems since all the chapters are developed as problems in themselves. It has also the probably the first extensive treatment in a textbook of evolutionary game theory. Given that this new field has become one of extensive research in the field lately, this becomes a major contribution to the teaching of game theory. And the best part is that is fun to read!

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful for beginners, May 8, 2005

By 

Henry A. Kim (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Game Theory Evolving (Paperback)

This is a terrific introductory textbook for game theory students, especially those lacking microeconomic background. The abundance of solved exercises help illustrate concepts that, if only explained conceptually, are likely to leave the reader confused. I'd recommend this for beginning students. For the students with more background, I'd recommend Osborne and Rubinstein. Only the students comfortable with the math should use Fudenberg/Tirole or Myerson.

I'm puzzled by the some of the criticisms presented here: all the notations are standard for the field and the basic concepts are laid out as clearly as any other text. If anything, the solved examples clarify the concepts much better than usual. At least one of the reviews (the review below) makes so little sense that makes me wonder if he even understood what he was reading: he's throwing about irrelevant jargon from communication theory (which has nothing to do with the basic game theory that the text mostly concerns itself with, especially the simple-minded example he's supposedly critiquing.). I'd pick this as the textbook for my intro class any day.

Having said that, the "evolving" in the title is somewhat misleading. This is a fairly introductory text for generic game theory, not really the evolutionary game theory which is more complicated creature. Gintis touches on some topics and provides some illustrations--more than most "basic" game theory texts, in fact, but not in depth. To learn the real deal, you will need more advanced texts such as Weibull. On the other hand, of course, they are much denser and will make a lot less sense.