Game Theory

Game Theory: From the Prisoner's Dilemma to Artificial Intelligence

Course-Research

Vita Harwood

Series "In Twelve Evenings" BOOK 3

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Game Theory is a clear, engaging introduction to strategic decision-making. Over twelve evenings, you will learn what a strategy really is, why individually rational choices can produce a bad result for everyone, how Nash equilibrium works, and why deliberate randomness can sometimes be more rational than a confident guess.

The course begins with simple two-player games, then moves steadily into the real world. The Prisoner's Dilemma opens the door to cooperation and trust. Sequential and repeated games reveal how threats, promises, reputation, and future encounters change what makes sense today. Games with incomplete information show why signals, hidden knowledge, and beliefs matter. From there, game theory travels into business competition, auctions, international conflict, evolutionary biology, and artificial intelligence.

No advanced university mathematics is required. School algebra, percentages, fractions, and basic probability are enough. Each idea is explained in plain language before it is tested on a small example you can follow by hand.

Every lesson includes a portrait of a major thinker, a surprising factual turn, key terms, a ten-question test, and a practical field assignment. At the end of the book you will find all 120 answers with explanations, a complete glossary, sources, and suggestions for what to read and watch next.

This is a book for curious teenagers and adults who want more than a list of famous puzzles. Its real goal is to teach you how to see the structure of a strategic situation: Who are the players? What does each of them want? What do they know? Who moves first? Can they cooperate? Will they meet again?

After twelve evenings, you may not be able to predict people perfectly. You will be much better at knowing which question to ask before you make your next move.