Game Theory Update

One of the classes I’m attending is Prof. Arijit Sen’s famous class on Game Theory.

Prof. Sen is if you remember is my favourite professor here. This time, here is another gem from the extensive class notes and reading material he hands out before class.

This is from an extended example about analyzing and solving co-ordination problems using Game Theory. The example talks about two researchers Bob and Alice working on a paper from two remote locations. The final paragraph (each paragraph is a separate co-ordinaton problem).

June 29th, 3 pm: Their paper has been accepted for publication. In an elated state of mind, each is now planning to go for a vacation either to a Napa Valley resort or to a Santa Barbara beach resort. But here, they face the following problem. During their collaboration, Bob has come to enjoy Alice’s company so much that he wants to go to the same resort that Alice will be going to. Alice, on the other hand, considers Bob to be a good professional colleague but not a ‘close friend’. Wanting to keep things that way, she does not want to go to the same resort as Bob, but neither does she want to tell this to Bob and hurt his feelings. Given that they are selecting their vacation destinations sitting in their respective laboratories, how should they choose?

January 21st, 2010 / 0 Comments / Tags: acads, sen, game theory / Trackback