The people at Worth Publishers were simply terrific.
I want to thank Charlie Van Wagner for convincing me to sign with Worth (and my colleague Larry Ball for suggesting it). My development editor, Carol Pritchard-Martinez, was a paragon of patience and a fount of constructive ideas. Sarah Dorger guided me through the publication process with expertise and warmth, often pushing me along without me knowing that I was being pushed along. Matt Driskill stepped in at a key juncture and exhibited considerable grit and determination to make the project succeed. Dana Kasowitz, Paul Shensa, and Steve Rigolosi helped at various stages to make the book authoritative and attractive. The copy editor, Brian Baker, was meticulous in improving the exposition and, amidst repairing my grammatical faux pas, genuinely seemed to enjoy the book! While I dedicated my doctoral thesis to my wife and best friend, Diana, my first textbook to my two wonderful parents, and this book to my two lovely and inspiring daughters, I can’t help but mention again—24 years after saying so in my thesis—that I couldn’t have done this without you. Thanks, Di.
PREFACE xxiii
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Games, Strategies, and Decision Making
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Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. —OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
1.1 Who Wants to Be a Game Theorist? April 14, 2007: What’s this goo I’m floating in? It’s borrrriiiing being here by myself.
May 26, 2007: Finally, I get out of this place. Why is that woman smiling at me? I look like crud. And who’s that twisted paparazzo with a camera?
June 1, 2007: Oh, I get it. I cry and then they feed me. I wonder what else I can get them to do. Let’s see what happens when I spit up. Whoa, lots of at- tention. Cool!
September 24, 2019: Okay, this penalty kick can win it for us. Will the goalie go left or right? I think I’ll send it to the right.
January 20, 2022: I have got to have the latest MP5 player! sugardaddy37 has the high bid on eBay, but how high will the bidding go? Should I bid now or wait? If I could only get around eBay’s new antisniping software!
December 15, 2027: This game theory instructor thinks he’s so smart. I know exactly what he’s asking for with this question. Wait, is this a trick? Did he think I would think that? Maybe he’s not so dumb, though he sure looks it; what a geek.
May 7, 2035: If I want that promotion to sales manager, I’ve got to top the charts in next quarter’s sales. But to do that, I can’t just do what everyone else does and focus on the same old customers. Perhaps I should take a chance by aggressively going after some new large accounts.
August 6, 2056: If my son keeps getting lousy grades, he’ll never get into a good college. How do I motivate him? Threaten to ground him? Pay for grades? Bribe him with a car?
February 17, 2071: This transfer to the middle of nowhere is just a way to get me to quit. Maybe I can negotiate a sweet retirement deal with my boss. I wonder how badly she wants me out of here.
October 17, 2089: That guy in room 17 always gets to the commons room first and puts on that stupid talk show. Since when did he own this nursing home? Tomorrow, I’ll wake up early from my nap and beat him there!
FROM WOMB TO TOMB, life is a series of social encounters with parents, siblings, classmates, friends, teammates, teachers, children, neighbors, colleagues, bosses, baristas, and on and on. In this book, we explore a myriad collection of such
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Introduction to Strategic Reasoning
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