GAME THEORY AND APPLICATIONS


MAP 4180, Section 01, Fall 2007

(Reference #09653 in Directory of Classes)

Game Theory and Applications will be taught from the perspective of an applied mathematician, i.e., it will focus on game-theoretic modelling (as opposed to rigorous proofs of existence and uniqueness theorems). The course will cover, in a unified way, both classical and evolutionary game theory, and should be of interest not only to mathematics majors but also to students in the life, management or social sciences. It will include numerous applications
Professor: Dr M-G
Office:202B Love (in which I hold office hours)
Phone:(850 64)4 2580
Email:mesterto@math.fsu.edu
Web site:http://www.math.fsu.edu/~mesterto
Course goal:To introduce game theory and some of its applications
Course page: http://www.math.fsu.edu/~mesterto/GameTheory.html (this page—but obviously, if you are reading a hard copy of it, then you won't be able to activate the links until you go online)
Class meets: in 200 LOV, Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-1:45 p.m.
Text: No required text
Credit: 3 semester hours. Mathematics majors may take MAP 4180-01 as an elective counting toward credit for graduation
Syllabus: Nash equilibrium and other solution concepts for noncooperative games
Evolutionary stability and other criteria for equilibrium selection
Cooperative games in strategic form
Cooperative games in characteristic function form
The prisoner's dilemma and the rationality of cooperation
Population games
Further applications, as determined by student needs or interests
Prerequisites:
(i)MAC 2313, MAS 3105, STA 4442, MAP 2302; or Professor M-G's consent and
(ii)self-motivation and industriousness. Professor M-G's philosophy of learning is perhaps best expressed by the following diagram:
 
Communication:It is your responsibility to register here for a (free) FSU computer account so that I can send you email, which you are expected to check regularly. If you prefer to read your email elsewhere then you can arrange to have messages forwarded, but you must still obtain an FSU account in the first instance
Your name:I don't know who you are, but because everything works so much better when I do, I would like to learn your name as soon as possible. Please take a sheet of paper, fold it in half, write your first name in large letters on one side and stand it up on your desk so that I can see it. (Write whatever you want me to call you—if you're a William who likes to be called Dubya, write Dubya, not William.) Please bring your name plate to every class until I have finally learnt your name (which will take significantly longer than it used to take when I started out)
Grades: Will be based on five written assignments (20% each) in the first instance; however, in exceptional cases, part of an ongoing research project may be substituted for the final assignment. Note that quality of presentation is extremely important, and so there will be penalties (commensurate with degree of infraction) for badly presented work. It is not enough merely to produce an answer: the method by which you obtain it must be sound, and you must clearly demonstrate that you understand it. In borderline cases, a smaller number of completely correct solutions will carry more weight than a proportionate number of fragmentary answers, and later scores will carry more weight than earlier scores. Partial credit is awarded only when part of a solution is completely correct (not when all of a solution is partially correct, whatever that means, if anything). Assignments will be due at the beginning of class on the designated day. Late assignments will be viewed as badly presented, and very late assignments will not be graded (i.e., will achieve a grade of zero).
Etiquette:You are firmly bound by Florida State University's Academic Honor Code (briefly, you have the responsibility to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in your own work, to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community). Although you may discuss assignments with others in general terms, the solutions you present must be your very own work ("in general terms" means that discussion is oral and nothing is copied down).
Helpline:If you get stuck between classes then consider using my Homework Helpline. Just send me your question by email. As soon as I possibly can (which might be as soon as within half an hour, but might also be a day or two later—I have a life, too, you know), I will reply, not to you, but rather to the class alias (after carefully concealing your identity, just in case you are inexplicably bashful about being perceived as smart enough to ask questions).
Disabilities:If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations, then not only should you register with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), but also you should bring me written confirmation from SDRC during the first week of class.

Assignments

Assignment 1 (due at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 20, 2007)
Assignment 2 (due at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, 2007)
Assignment 3 (due at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 30, 2007)
Assignment 4 (due at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20, 2007)
Assignment 5 (due at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 6, 2007)

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