[itistoday]

Can anyone here explain in layman's terms what a Nash equilibrium is?

[mdc]

i've never heard about it, but a search on wikipedia brought up this.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by mdc

i've never heard about it, but a search on wikipedia brought up this.

Yes I am aware of that article. It doesn't explain it very well though.

[Rev-O]

Didn't Auman and Schelling win Nobels based on this stuff this year? NPC had a nice brief description of their work, which was so cursory it made sense. IIRC Schelling was all about being unpredictable was a viable strategy that was potentially very successful. Keeping someone in fear can be used more advantageously than the person knowing the outcome of a situation. Okay, oversimplified, but sounded cool. No idea what Auman was about. But, hey, they both related to game theory, and I think they dealt with nash equilibrium stuff.

[rozwado1]

[alligator]

Noway is Nash equal with that '71 cuda he drives (although it is really a '70 made into a '71). That kinda tips the scale in his favor, doesn't it?

[brapper]

Get yourself a decent econ textbook.

Alternatively, watch "A Beautiful Mind," specifically the part in the bar when Nash realizes that no one wins when all the boys go for the same girl.

But to directly quote a website, a Nash Equilibrium is "An important concept in GAME THEORY, a Nash equilibrium occurs when each player is pursuing their best possible strategy in the full knowledge of the strategies of all other players. Once a Nash equilibrium is reached, nobody has any incentive to change their strategy. It is named after John Nash, a mathematician and Nobel prize-winning economist. "

It means that each person knows what the others want, account for that when deciding what they desire, and eliminate competing choices from their decision matrix. So, if they rightly account for all the other players in the situation, each will choose the best attainable outcome, and be fully satisfied.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by brapper

Get yourself a decent econ textbook.

Alternatively, watch "A Beautiful Mind," specifically the part in the bar when Nash realizes that no one wins when all the boys go for the same girl.

But to directly quote a website, a Nash Equilibrium is "An important concept in GAME THEORY, a Nash equilibrium occurs when each player is pursuing their best possible strategy in the full knowledge of the strategies of all other players. Once a Nash equilibrium is reached, nobody has any incentive to change their strategy. It is named after John Nash, a mathematician and Nobel prize-winning economist. "

It means that each person knows what the others want, account for that when deciding what they desire, and eliminate competing choices from their decision matrix. So, if they rightly account for all the other players in the situation, each will choose the best attainable outcome, and be fully satisfied.

Thanks. Did he win a nobel prize for that though? I mean, it just doesn't seem to be like such a big thing (especially when compared to other nobel prize winning ventures such as the discovery of DNA).

[Pendergast]

Originally Posted by brapper

Get yourself a decent econ textbook.

Alternatively, watch "A Beautiful Mind," specifically the part in the bar when Nash realizes that no one wins when all the boys go for the same girl.

But to directly quote a website, a Nash Equilibrium is "An important concept in GAME THEORY, a Nash equilibrium occurs when each player is pursuing their best possible strategy in the full knowledge of the strategies of all other players. Once a Nash equilibrium is reached, nobody has any incentive to change their strategy. It is named after John Nash, a mathematician and Nobel prize-winning economist. "

It means that each person knows what the others want, account for that when deciding what they desire, and eliminate competing choices from their decision matrix. So, if they rightly account for all the other players in the situation, each will choose the best attainable outcome, and be fully satisfied.

I'll go for the blonde.

[brapper]

Originally Posted by Pendergast

I'll go for the blonde.

Well she's clearly the hot one, so you'll have to fight me for her.

[Rolling Bones]

Isn't it one of those roadside drunk driving tests.

[brapper]

Originally Posted by itistoday

Thanks. Did he win a nobel prize for that though? I mean, it just doesn't seem to be like such a big thing (especially when compared to other nobel prize winning ventures such as the discovery of DNA).

haha well it's simple enough in simple cases. The thing is it holds true in incredibly complicated situations, for example trade dispute resolution, and even genetics (so the movie says..)

And ya, he did win the Nobel prize for Economics.

[Pendergast]

Originally Posted by brapper

Well she's clearly the hot one, so you'll have to fight me for her.

Let's compromise: are you blonde?




There are a few good biographies on Nash, including the one that was at the source of the movie (which was pretty good, including a nice music score and an extraordinary actress to play his wife -check her eyes out!-).

There was also a book released by the author of the biography that was exposing Nash's work; not exactly accessible, yet, with a few aspirins, you should be able to take it on. If I get to remember the book's title, I'll post it, but I am pretty certain it is easy to find.

[rozwado1]

Nash = (coolness of the 70 Cuda) - [(The 71 Cuda kit)+(Lame paintjob)] ± √Cheech Marin's Receding Hairline

[strictlyplaid]

To summarize briefly, a Nash equilbrium is a set of strategies in a game such that no player can change his/her strategy and do strictly better. A strategy is a set of actions to take that covers every possible contingency.

Just a note, iterative elimination of strictly dominated strategies is one way to find Nash equilibrium, like brapper said, but there are others. Nor does that method find every NE, particularly in games without a strictly dominant strategy (i.e. games with only a mixed strategy NE, like "Matching Pennies."

[brapper]

Originally Posted by strictlyplaid

To summarize briefly, a Nash equilbrium is a set of strategies in a game such that no player can change his/her strategy and do strictly better. A strategy is a set of actions to take that covers every possible contingency.

Just a note, iterative elimination of strictly dominated strategies is one way to find Nash equilibrium, like brapper said, but there are others. Nor does that method find every NE, particularly in games without a strictly dominant strategy (i.e. games with only a mixed strategy NE, like "Matching Pennies."

^^^ he's right.

I dropped econ btw.

[Hash]

Originally Posted by strictlyplaid

To summarize briefly, a Nash equilbrium is a set of strategies in a game such that no player can change his/her strategy and do strictly better. A strategy is a set of actions to take that covers every possible contingency.

Just a note, iterative elimination of strictly dominated strategies is one way to find Nash equilibrium, like brapper said, but there are others. Nor does that method find every NE, particularly in games without a strictly dominant strategy (i.e. games with only a mixed strategy NE, like "Matching Pennies."

Agree with the definition but I would say that Nash Equilibrium is an equilibrium (or resulting situation) in a game when all players choose their best response strategies, which are strategies which are best for the players, ie maximize their payoffs or benefits for all possible moves of other players.