Customer Reviews

Moral Calculations : Game Theory, Logic and Human Frailty

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mero's book is an interesting read, and is a very good non-mathematical review of the basics of game theory and its relationship to human ethics. I suspect that its translation from Hungarian led to its sometimes strange choices of words, but on the whole, it is a good way to get a sense of the surprising generality and importance of the subject.

Unfortunately, the book is marred by Mero's expansion of game theory into a "theory of everything". By the last chapter, he has gone from straightforward applied mathematics into fuzzy-headed mysticism. At this point, the book has become more embarassing than interesting. My suggestion is to read the first half of tbe book and forget the rest!

I found this book compelling: an understandable, non-dogmatic, open-minded, non-technical yet scientific look at how mathematical game theory might be applied by someone trying to behave morally in a universe of limited resources. The concepts are clearly stated without jargon in such a way that people with little aptitude or patience for mathematics will remain interested throughout. An important book for anyone interested in morality at any level.

This book is fascinating in how it demonstrates what we do in politics, science, and even meditation can affect our rational (and irrational) decision making processes, both individualy and in community.

I actually got referred to this book by a website that discussed Game Theory and when I went to Amazon to purchase it, I was amused by the reviewers on Amazon that were horrified that the last of the book covered Meditation/Mysticism. Thats what absolutely convinced me to buy it. I am a scientist and I am practicing meditation, I see both sides.

Mero does a great job of showing how Game Theory can explain the Rational and also show how irrational we are. He practically predicts why the reviewers that didn't like the last parts of his book are the way they are, which of course made them say the things they say in the review!

As the famous ad says, Just do it.

In this book, Mero adds some flesh to game theory, explaining why so many people become entranced with how it sets up economic and social choices as toy puzzles, in which people are trying to get the best possible outcome.

In particular, he explains some of the more infamous non-zero-sum games: the dollar auction, in which a dollar bill is auctioned off, but with a twist - both the highest bidder and the second-highest bidder must pay their bids, but only the highest bidder gets the dollar; and the prisoner's dilemma (and its variants), in which cooperation is the best result for the 2 players combined, but there's the danger of being undermined by the other player and individually losing everything. The dollar auction is likened to an arms race (indeed, the U.S. won =that= particular dollar auction against the Soviets), where what is being bought is military supremacy between superpowers. The prisoner's dilemma can be likened to a situation like a lane closure on a busy highway: if one merges in turn, and everybody else does, traffic keeps flowing somewhat; however, if only one person zooms ahead and merges ahead of where they should in fairness, the traffic can still go on fine and that one zoomer gets a benefit over the other drivers. But if =everybody= tries to cut in line... traffic clog.

It is true that trying to extend game theory to morality is a tricky business, and as another reviewer has put it, the book gets downright embarrassing towards the end. However, I am a math teacher, and have used ideas from the book to put more =oomph= in my classes on game theory to gifted teenagers. There isn't much in the way of math in here, but plenty of rational thinking and can lead a little light on to why game theory research has led to the winning of a Nobel Prize in Economics (or two).

Laszlo is a master game theorist who is also able to convey the essence of many other complex and abstract fields and explain those concepts vis-a-vis game theory principles.

The many fields which he observes are
1) Evolution - the debate between group selection and gene selection
2) Bluffing - Can there be a formula that can help you bluff.
3) Human behaviour in auctions.
4) The play between Socialism and Free Enterprise or competition-cooperation in societies and economies.
5) Hawks and Doves - is there a mathematical necessity to have both elements in a society as it evolves.
6) Quantum physics - why do electrons behave or are observed to be behaving according to principles of quantum physics. Is that the electrons behaviour or is that behaviour its existence.
7) What principles of decision making does our conscious and unconscious mind follow?
8) And finally a great comcept that amazed me - mysticism or meditation and its comparison with scientific thought. How eastern concept of meditation, which is based on transcending the mind, compares with the goedele's theorem which says that a system of rational thought can be insufficient to explain everything within that system.

The book does get difficult to read towards the end but for most part Laszlo manages to simplify concepts of immense complexity in simple language.

It's a joy to read and will reignite the scientific thought as well as mystic curiosity in you.

Laszlo Mero, A Big Thank You for this effort.

The first half of the book was absolutely terrific and I am glad I book, however, it gets a little scattered toward the second half.

The book is divided into three parts:

I. Introduces some concepts from game theory, psychology
II. Gives examples from fields of economics, physics, biology
III. Discusses rationality and irrationality.

I found the first two parts both helpful and easy to read. They weren't technical at all, there isn't a single formula in the book. However, the last part is very hard to read and understand. I had to re-read some sentences several times and am not sure if I followed the author correctly.

Overall, I would suggest reading the book - it won't take much time and you can learn such concepts as evolutionary stable strategies, mixed strategies. Also, presentation of some concepts from physics and economics is interesting.

1998 was a crummy year. The single, sole exception to that is Meros' book, "Moral Calculations". In laymans terms, Mero makes a compelling arguement in a branch of mathematics called Game Theory what constitutes a moral decision. I have read this book five times, and before 1999 is over, I will read it several more times. For anybody who has ever argued over the morality of a decision, you MUST read this book. I hate the cliche of a "brilliant read" but this book has that hallmark. Don't let 1999 pass before you sit down over a long weekend, and reread this book.

Anyone who studies Economics gets to know the problems of rationality assumptions. Even more in game theory, these assumptions lead to results which are not observed in reality exactly because they are not real-like assumptions. The treatment brought up by this book assesses this issue very well.
Great purchase, I recommend!

"Is there such a thing as rational behavior, and if so, how do we use it to our advantage?
Hungarian mathematician Laszlo Mero introduces us to the basics of John von Neumann's game theory and shows how it illuminates such aspects of human psychology as altruism, competition, and politics.

Mero COVERS SUCH CONCEPTS AS ZEROSUM GAMES;....."
[from the book of the back cover]