Game theory is one of the most important developments in mathematics of the XNUMXth century. Thanks to it, it is possible to analyze different problems that would otherwise be impossible, thus becoming a tool of great importance in research and development of technology such as blockchain.
Lwasgame theory is a branch of mathematics that has great relevance in the behavioral and decision-making fields. This theory is focused on studying how an economic system is related to the behavior of an individual. Specifically in cases where costs and benefits are not fixed in advance but depend on third parties.
With the analysis of these situations, game theory seeks to understand how certain situations can affect an economic system or any other type. For example, as a oligopoly You can make decisions that negatively affect another majority but less powerful group. In this way, game theory seeks to offer answers and tools that effectively manage such situations.
The studies managed by game theory allow us to better understand how cooperation or individualism can affect an economic system. These are aspects of great importance in the midst of an increasingly interconnected world and more interdependent economies. But not only that, the game theory and its analyzes go much further as we will see below.
Brief history and origin of game theory
In the year of 1928, the famous mathematician John von Neumann published a series of works on game theory. These were the genesis of the theory and one of Neumann's most important contributions. However, game theory became more relevant after the development of an example of non-cooperative game: Nash equilibrium.
Nash equilibrium is a game, in which The success of a strategy is measured by optimally adjusting your plans and not changing them with respect to the rest of the group. In this way, none of the participants will gain anything if they decide to change their strategy under the assumption that the other individuals do not change theirs. An example of this type of balance can be seen in the so-called prisoner's dilemma.
It was after presenting this study that game theory has suffered from significant scientific coverage and studies. All with the aim of studying its capabilities and its impact in other fields.
Some types of games within the theory
After the explosion in the study and development of game theory, various specialists have been able to create different games or situations that are possible to analyze and take advantage of thanks to this theory. Among these games we can mention:
- Nash equilibrium. These are characterized by having a balanced final solution in which neither player gains anything by modifying their strategy while the other or the others maintain theirs. In other words, neither party can change their individual decision without worsening.
- Simultaneous or sequential. As their names say, simultaneous games are those in which the players act all at once. While sequentials are those in which each player acts after another.
- Of perfect or imperfect information. In perfect information games all players know what the others have done before. On the other hand, in the imperfect information, the players do not know this information.
- Symmetrical or asymmetric. In this case, a symmetrical game is one in which the rewards and punishments of each player are the same. While asymmetric, these rewards and punishments are different.
- Zero or non-zero sum games. A zero-sum game is one in which when one player wins, the other loses exactly the same amount. While in non-zero sum games, the value of the win for the players varies as to whether they won, lost or were tied.
- Cooperative or non-cooperative games. Cooperative games are those in which two or more players form a team to achieve a goal, the optimal strategies for groups of individuals are analyzed, assuming that they can establish agreements with each other about the most appropriate strategies.
Applications and importance of game theory
It may seem very strange that some games may have some application and importance beyond the playful one. But the truth is that it does and that impact goes from the social sciences, through biology, philosophy, computer science, mathematics and of course technology blockchain.
For example, you've thought about how dating apps do to decide which profiles to show you. Well, apart from the data they collect about you and your tastes, game theory has an important role there. The same happens for example in economics. Central banks often turn to game theory to find out how society and markets will react. The purpose behind it, to predict the impact of the measures and take corrective actions in case something is undesirable. As you can see the game theory it can talk about games, but it has nothing to do with it. The object of study of the same is serious and of great relevance for many scientific and work fields.
Brianda cryptocurrencies, , game theory has a fundamental role. Take for example the case PoW consensus protocols. In such a case we can say that the mineros they participate in a game called “Mining and confirmation of Transactions". The objective of the game is simple: tomar the transactions, process them, verify them and say that everything is fine. To achieve this, miners make use of advanced cryptography to verify the data. In the game, each miner makes a decision and that decision is then verified and respected by the rest. At the end of the game, the goal is achieved: ensure that network transactions are carried out, are secure and that there is nothing wrong with them.