If you have never seen the "Very Short Introduction" series, the books are really fantastic. In a somewhat dense, but elegant manner, experts in different fields give introductions to many topics spanning across hundreds of topics. They are a really good way to go from knowing nothing on a topic to understanding the basics in 100-200 pages. This one was on game theory, but I may well read one on the Dead Sea Scrolls soon.
Essentially, Game theory is the study of decision making. It tries to find out when people will decide to cooperate with one another, and when they won't. Most famously, this is seen in the Prisoner's dilemma, while there are many more that further the arguments and give different theories. In this example specifically, both of the prisoners will decide to rat out the other one because of their Nash equilibrium. A Nash equilibrium is when you have one option that no matter what the other person choses, you get the better result. In the prisoner's dilemma, it makes sense for each prisoner to separately mess the other one over. However, this is not their best option had they worked together and trusted each other. Essentially, a major challenge that game theory poses is how can we get people (and ourselves) to collaborate with one another (even if we don't have a collaboratorium) when the situation doesn't make us do so.
I saw this happen first hand while I was a counselor for a day camp in a hotel for Passover. The counselors as a group were talking about whether it would make sense for the twelve or so of us to split the tips that we receive (that is how we were getting paid) or should we only get what the parents of the kids in our group give us. Mostly because I was reading this book at the time, game theory was all i could see. There are two types of utility that we could get as a group. Obviously, we each wanted more money, and many felt that they would do a great job, but there was also a value of wanting it to be fair. Like in the dilemma, there was an option that would have given the most utility. If everyone works hard and we split it then it is both fair and maximal money. However, as the dilemma teaches us every single other counselor decided to try and get the most tips, and of course some people ended up not getting a comprable share. While this wasn't exactly the same situation, it got me thinking about how we can fix this problem.
I saw a similar example in a british game show called Golden Balls that I think can give us some insight. While the show is somewhat different because there is no Nash equilibrium, this still happens. The first possible solution is to change the rules of the game as is done here. In this situation he changes the way the game is played so it makes sense for the other guy to help. While this does lead to a positive result, I wouldn't necessarily say it makes the people virtuous. This also fails to solve the larger issue, instead it focuses on one example at a time. Therefore, in my estimation the way to solve it is this. Here, no tricks are needed. They have worked hard together and trust one another, so they will help one another. In essence, this is the power of community. When we are fighting for common goals and realize the value in one another we can solve the prisoner's dilemma. Game theory talks about how this happens with kin, ina avery similar manner. People's love for their kin will override these tendacies. The question is how do we get this feeling to go over to the entire community, country and world? It happens in armies and workplaces, why can't it happen at large?
For the past two summers (and this coming summer), I have been a counselor in Machal in Camp Stone. Part of the Machal program is a community building exercise, trying to take a group of 15 year olds and create a bonded community. I have seen it happen twice, and I hope that we can make it happen again. What makes me nervous though, is that it takes an extremely intense summer like Machal to inculcate this value. What I can hope is that the campers will come out of the summer and spread it to their communities.
Generic ending about the Beit Hamikdash being built if we can do this.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in economics or the way people collaborate. It really gave me insight into game theory, and I feel that i have gained knowledge of a new subject from such a short book.
