Games That People Play out on a Limb

SPRING BOOKS construct a theory of cooperative games. many difficulties and paradoxes. Games that Both justified their emphasis on coop The very title of Poundstone's book erative games because they felt that the bespeaks of popular science. The prison people play correct scientific approach was to devise er's dilemma is easy to comprehend and a new static equilibrium theory for the offers an excellent way to mislead lay Martin Shubik social sciences. They stated quite clearly persons about the main contributions of that they thought it was far too early to game theory. It is a shame that an Prisoner's Dilemma: John von offer a satisfactory dynamic theory and author with the writing talent of Pound Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle that it was possible that the structure of stone did not bother to understand of the Bomb. By William Poundstone. such a theory would differ considerably enough about game theory or von Doubleday: 1992. Pp 290. $22.50. from the static theory. Neumann's ideas. Poundstone states that "Von The book on von Neumann, WILLIAM Poundstone is a generally skil Neumann and Morgenstern got side Morgenstern and the development of the ful science writer who in this instance tracked in their treatment of games of theory of games remains to be written. D has tried to write three worthwhile more than two persons. Their approach, books in one. They are another decent while not wrong, no longer seems the Martin Shubik is at the Santa Fe Institute, biography of John von Neumann; a good most useful or most illuminating one." 1660 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico popular account of the theory of games Apart from ignoring the large and still 87501, USA. that is both balanced and accurate; and growing literature on the applications of an analysis of the development of nuc cooperative game theory to voting, the lear war strategy. Unfortunately, Pound pricing system, cost accounting and com Out on a limb stone has produced a melange that munication networks, this statement does not do justice to any one of shows that the author is unaware of the Michael C. Corballis these topics. important developments of techniques Prisoner's Dilemma contains a well for studying many-person games. This is The Left-Hander Syndrome: The Causes written but slight biography of von further illustrated when he writes, "Un and Consequences of Left-Handedness. Neumann. Apart from supplying some fortunately, the complexity of games, By Stanley Coren. John Murray: 1992. of the usual anecdotes and giving a and of the necessary computations, in Pp. 308. £17.95. sketch of the chronology of von creases exponentially with the number of Neumann's life, the author does little to players. If the economy of the world can THERE have been many books written explain this man's brilliance as an ap be modelled as a 5-billion-player 'game', about handedness, and to those of us in plied mathematician. Whether or not he that fact may be of little practical use." the trade there is a touch of deja vu in was nice is of some popular interest, but On the contrary, the development of this latest offering by Stanley Coren. We as with Gauss, Newton, Einstein or methods to analyse games involving a read again the list of famous left Bohr, such detail is trivial in comparison continuum of agents or, for that matter, banders, the quotations from the Bible, with his intellectual output. a countable infinity of players, are begin the litany of derogatory terms referring Game theory is also badly treated. ning to provide precisely the methods to or derived from left-handedness, the Poundstone deeply misinterprets and needed to study economies and politics. myths and prejudices, ancient and mod misunderstands von Neumann's commit It is difficult to sort out Poundstone's ern, associated with both handedness ment to cooperative game theory that he third purpose - to discuss US nuclear and the two sides of the brain. But there and Oskar Morgenstern clearly spelled cold-war strategy in relation to the game is also much that is new here, and if out in the first chapter of their book The theory proposed by von Neumann and nothing else this book is a marvellously Theory of Games and Economic Be Morgenstern. Clearly Poundstone does full compendium of facts about left haviour (1944). Von Neumann perhaps not understand von Neumann's caution handedness. It is written in an engaging, could best be described as conservative in using mathematical models. Von conversational style that will appeal even and hawkish; but the 'prisoner's dilem Neumann's thoughts on nuclear war to those with only a casual interest in ma' type of noncooperative game theory were influenced very little by formal the topic. adopted by political scientists and discus game theory, and Poundstone is wrong Coren's main contributions to the sed by Poundstone was utterly foreign to in suggesting that von Neumann might study of handedness have been empiri him, and to the best of my knowledge he have been a model for Dr Strangelove. cal, typically in the form of large-scale never used it. (In a personal communica Those involved in the use of simple surveys of handedness, footedness, eyed tion, von Neumann once told me that he cold-war noncooperative game theory ness and earedness and the relationships had little use for noncooperative game were Herman Kahn, Daniel Ellsberg, between them, on handedness in fami theory. I was trying to persuade him that Tom Schelling and, to some extent, lies, and on handedness as depicted in for some problems in economics the use Albert Wohlstetter and Henry Kissinger. works of art going back 5,000 years. of this theory might be the right The innuendo throughout the book is Coren uses the facts and figures he has approach, as it had been followed fruit that the highly imprecise (but imagina accumulated to test various theories of fully in 1838 by Cournot, the father of tive) use of analogies, experiments and handedness and sidedness, and indeed mathematical economics.) simulations based on the two-by-two to counter some of the more fanciful The seminal paper on game theory matrix was somehow connected with the ones. His chapter on "Psycho-Neuro was von Neumann's 1928 article on two ideas and concepts of von Neumann. Astrology" is a valuable debunking of person zero-sum games (where the gain The reality, though, is that he had little the 'left brain/right brain' dichotomy that of one participant is the loss of the if any use for this sort of theorizing. permeates popular folklore, and should other). As early as 1928, Morgenstern Among the key deep insights of von be read by all magazine editors. had noted the strategic dilemma of these Neumann and Morgenstern was that, But the book will provoke its own games in a discussion of conflict between even if one made highly simplifying share of controversy. Coren's main Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty. At the assumptions about bloodless, passion theme becomes apparent in the chapter time, von Neumann and Morgenstern less, rational men, the attempt to extend that asks, "Are Left-banders Pathologi did not know each other, but later in the concept of rational behaviour cal?". He reviews evidence that left Princeton they worked together to help beyond one individual is filled with banders are indeed over-represented NATURE· VOL 356 · 16 APRIL 1992 637 © 1992 Nature Publishing Group.

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