Can I read Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb on EtoBox?

Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb by William Poundstone is a science book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb about?

Should you watch public television without pledging?...Exceed the posted speed limit?...Hop a subway turnstile without paying? These questions illustrate the so-called "prisoner's dilemma", a social puzzle that we all face every day. Though the answers may seem simple, their profound implications make the prisoner's dilemma one of the great unifying concepts of science. Watching players bluff in a poker game inspired John von Neumann—father of the modern computer and one of the sharpest minds of the century—to construct game theory, a mathematical study of conflict and deception. Game theory was readily embraced at the RAND Corporation, the archetypical think tank charged with formulating military strategy for the atomic age, and in 1950 two RAND scientists made a momentous discovery. Called the "prisoner's dilemma," it is a disturbing and mind-bending game where two or more people may betray the common good for individual gain. Introduced shortly after the Soviet Union acquired the atomic bomb, the prisoner's dilemma quickly became a popular allegory of the nuclear arms race. Intellectuals such as von Neumann and Bertrand Russell joined military and political leaders in rallying t

Who reads Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb?

Author

William Poundstone

Publisher

Anchor Books

Published

1993

Language

EN

ISBN

9781299009257

Category

science

Subjects

Mathematics, Memoir, Fiction

Rating

4.4 / 5 (299 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14