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John von Neumann influence on game theory
John von Neumann influence on game theory
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For years my main intellectual interest has been focused around the subject of economics. I first became actively immersed in the “dismal science" after reading a chapter from the book, Doctor Strangelove’s Game, which focuses on the history of economics. The chapter concerned famed mathematician and inventor of game theory, John Von Neumann. According to the book, during the Cold War, Von Neumann would advise President Eisenhower on whether or not to use the atomic bomb on the USSR (much like the famed Dr. Strangelove did in the eponymous Kubrick film). Von Neumann concluded that based on game theory, the only strategic move for Eisenhower to make would be to drop the bomb on Russia, before they could do the same to us. In fact, his argument was filled with such cogency, that he nearly convinced Secretary of State John Dulles that the right move was to bomb the Soviets. Although, I strongly disagree with Von Neumann’s position on Mutually Assured Destruction, I was enthralled by the idea of game theory, it’s far reaching applications, and economics as a whole. Since reading that, my interest in economics …show more content…
There is so much we don’t know, and my curiosity has driven me to learn more. This is why I feel that Cornell offers the best experience for someone interested in majoring in economics, due to the skill and vast knowledge of the professors teaching the subject. Two professors that stand out in particular to me are Francine Blau and Kaushik Basu. Blau, a prize winning economist for her studies on labor inequality, and Basu who was the chief economist for the World Bank, which maintains the chief goal of abolishing world poverty, epitomize the type of intellectual I aspire to be. To see two famed economists working at Cornell, looking to better the world inspires me, and I would be honored to be given the ability to learn under them at the university, so that I could grow in my intellectual and academic
The Cold War was a period of dark and melancholic times when the entire world lived in fear that the boiling pot may spill. The protectionist measures taken by Eisenhower kept the communists in check to suspend the progression of USSR’s radical ambitions and programs. From the suspenseful delirium from the Cold War, the United States often engaged in a dangerous policy of brinksmanship through the mid-1950s. Fortunately, these actions did not lead to a global nuclear disaster as both the US and USSR fully understood what the weapons of mass destruction were capable of.
Who would have ever thought the way a radioactive particle decays would relate to whether or not we have bad attitudes towards life? Who would have ever suspected that the structure of space-time would be so closely linked to whether or not we would marry rich wives? And who indeed would have ever expected that the properties of light might affect whether or not we go on homicidal rampages? Perhaps Kurt Vonnegut did. Could it be possible that a writer known more for his pictures of assholes than his knowledge of advanced physics actually centered some of the deepest concepts in his works on the philosophical implications of general relativity and quantum mechanics? Two of his greatest novels, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions, both seem to hint at the relationship between modern physics and an idea philosophers call determinism. Vonnegut readers might well scratch their heads and flip through their copies of these books, searching the stories of the fragmented life of a war veteran and the deranged antics of a mad car salesman for a chapter on the Schrödinger wave equation they may have skipped. I freely admit that their search will be in vain, and that no truly concrete proof exists that Vonnegut based the ideas in these books on the latest discoveries of science. But I also contend that the parallels between Vonnegut’s work and advanced physics are a little too perfect to be a series of very lucky accidents. From this perspective, it seems likely that Vonnegut used ideas based on physics to support the idea of determinism in Slaughterhouse-Five and destroy it in Breakfast of Champions.
In society, independent learners are those who seek to further their education to the next level. In the article, “Why We Are Looking at the ‘Value’ of College All Wrong” by Valerie Strauss, Christopher B. Nelson argues that people can’t compare economics with receiving a higher education. Individuals who look at college from an economic lens view education the wrong way. Instead, individuals should look at the bigger picture, which is gaining an education and taking in the knowledge.
reality normally consists of two parts: a) A set of local laws that are obeyed
In this essay, I will summarize two specific events that occurred within the framework of the Cold War. From there, I will analyze their potential effects if nuclear weaponry had not been involved. Lastly, I will explain how nuclear power had a positive effect on the war, due to its influence via deterrence. Finally, I will summarize the importance of nuclear power in the Cold War.
In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s – put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson – was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimed at intimating and gaining the upper hand in relations with Russia. Today, fifty-four years after the two bombings, with the advantage of historical hindsight and the advantage of new evidence, a third view, free of obscuring bias and passion, can be presented. First, the dropping of the bomb was born out of complex infinite military, domestic and diplomatic pressures and concerns. Second, many potentially viable alternatives to dropping the bombs were not explored by Truman and other men in power, as they probably should have been. Lastly, because these alternatives were never explored, we can only conjecture over whether or not Truman’s decision was a morally just one, and if indeed it was necessary to use atomic energy to win the war.
American policy was a mess from 1946 through 1950. The Cold War had begun, and there was a lot of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. American forces were small however, and the defense budget was too small to meet the Soviet threat. American decision makers didn’t think the Soviets were necessarily seeking a war, but almost no one thought the peace would last. There was an overall gloomy outlook, however the Soviets were counting on several years of peace. Even though the Soviets were not actively seeking conflict, they were still using political means to achieve their goals. No one knew how a war might start and there was fear of miscalculation:
To academic bias, a long section of the film is devoted the teaching of economics and which theories of economics should be taught. As presented in the movie, by virtue of being taught, different theories represent a bias in and of itself. Student Charles Mitchell makes the unusual statement that Marxist study is a “value judgment.” To me, this is not a new breakthrough in thought: it could be argued that all education, throughout history, has been biased based on what has been taught.
The Cold War historiography, specifically the issue of nuclear deterrence has provided historians the classic dialectic of an original thesis that is challenged by an antithesis. Both then emerge in the resolution of a new synthesis. Unfortunately, each evolution of a new synthesis is quickly demolished with each political crisis and technological advance during the Cold War narrative. The traditional/orthodox views were often challenged by the conventional wisdom with the creation of synthesis or post revisionism. There appears to be a multiple historiographical trends on nuclear deterrence over the Cold War; each were dependent and shaped upon international events and technological developments. I have identified four major trends: the orthodox, the revisionist, the post revisionist, st and the New Left. Each of these different historical approaches had its proponents and opponents, both in the military as well as the political and
In Lee Ann Fisher Baron’s “Junk Science,” she claims that the “food industry with the help of federal regulators” sometimes use “[a science that] bypasses [the] system of peer review. Presented directly to the public by…‘experts’ or ‘activists,’ often with little or no supporting evidence, this ‘junk science’ undermines the ability…[for] everyday consumers to make rational decisions” (921). Yet Americans still have a lot of faith in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to a 2013 Pew Research study, 65% of Americans are “very favorable” or “mostly favorable” of the FDA. When it comes to what people put in their bodies, the FDA has a moral obligation to be truthful and transparent. The bottom line of the FDA’s myriad of responsibilities is to help protect the health of Americans. Deciding what to eat is a critical part of living healthily, and consumers must be able to trust that this massive government agency is informing them properly of the contents of food. While the FDA does an excellent job in many areas, it has flaws in other areas. One of its flaws is allowing the food industry to print food labels that are deceptive, unclear, or simply not true (known as misbranding). This is quite the hot topic because a Google search for “Should I trust food labels” returns well over 20 million results, many of which are blog posts from online writers begging their readers not to trust food labels. HowStuffWorks, a division of Discovery Communications, published an online article whose author claims that “[the food industry] will put what they want on labels. They know the game….” While the food industry is partially at blame for misbranding, the FDA is allowing it to happen. If a mother tells her children that it is oka...
Maddox, Robert. “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 280-288.
Following his graduation from the University of Chicago, in 1936 with a Bachelor of Arts, Samuelson attended Harvard Graduate School, where he studied under other budding economists. Samuelson completed his Master of Arts in 1936 and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1941. Both before and after his graduation, Samuelson was a pre-doctoral fellow with the Social Science Research Council from 1935 to 1937, a member of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University from 1937 to 1940, and a Ford Foundation Research Fellow from 1958 to 1959. In addition, he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, as well as a staff member at the Radiation Laboratory (Biographic...
With combined years of experience and study of atomic power the scientists not only had inside knowledge about the long-term damage that atomic bombs can cause, but they also knew the repercussions that could follow. The scientists feared that “Once they were introduced as an instrument of war it would be difficult to resist for long the temptation of putting them to such use.” (Szilard). By using this type of persuasion by rationale, the scientists aimed to stop America from unleashing a super
With the experience of majoring in both mathematics and economics, I am curious about how to combine these two different subjects. Therefore, I took experimental economics to better understand how people use mathematics to make right economic decisions. I participated in a group project in that course to analyze the inequality aversions under different institutions and environments. In particular, I am interested in prisoner’s dilemma in that course and decide to do a mathematics independent study about game theory in the coming
Additionally, the challenge that I came across as I encountered different mathematical and economics problems at my latter stages of life contributed greatly towards cementing my desires to further my education in both mathematics and economics at your prestigious institution. Economics happens to be a fundamental part of humans’ daily living and the current economic crisis have triggered my desire to have appropriate knowledge about the