Mickey_G
Posted May 3, 2009
If you were moved by the movie "A Beautiful Mind" directed by Ron Howard with Russell Crowe as John Nash and found yourself wondering if scientists and mathematicians are using Nash's theories today you must read this book. I also recommend this text for any student studying math, economics, or technology education at the college or post-graduate level. This text provides the context of how game theory and Nash's contributions impact science and economics. After reading this book twice I went out and purchased four additional copies for my best friends. If you only buy one book this year, make it this one and you will enjoy reflecting on each chapter and how it relates to your daily life all year long.
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Posted July 20, 2009
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Publishers Weekly
The title capitalizes on the popularity of the Oscar-winning movie about Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash. But this is a serious and adroit look at a branch of mathematics, influenced by Nash's work, that is steadily sending tendrils into nearly every area of science. It may even, says science journalist Siegfried, result in a mathematical description of nature of the sort imagined and called "psychohistory" by Isaac Asimov in his Foundation trilogy. Siegfried is talking about game theory, which was originally conceived as a model of economics predicting what rational people would do when competing for monetary gain. But with the help of the "Nash equilibrium," it has since evolved into a system that helps describe social networking, physics, evolution and more. In guiding the reader through the outgrowths of game theory, Siegfried steps nimbly around anything that would bog down the narrative, crisply painting the key concepts and framing them with pop culture, biographies of and conversations with giants in the field, and reacting ("Now, you have to admit, that's a little strange") to each new discovery. His clear and easy voice makes the content effortless and a pleasure to read. (Oct. 20) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
This book's title is an obvious allusion to A Beautiful Mind, the biography and movie about John Nash, the 1994 Nobel laureate in economics. Though veteran science journalist Siegfried does indeed include one chapter describing Nash's very important mathematical work, the last two phrases in the subtitle provide a more accurate statement of his book's scope and direction. Early in the volume, Siegfried reviews the history of game theory and its application to economics. Then he relates other applications now under development, including the discipline of social physics. Throughout, the mathematical exposition is kept at a level very accessible to lay readers. Siegfried incorporates some potential developments and applications that appear to be rather speculative and implausible, but this is appropriate in a work on a field still defining itself. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.-Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Product Details
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