John von Neumann’s Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Von Neumann was one of the greatest mathematical and strategic minds of the twentieth century: he invented that little machine we all carry around with us, the computer (back then, it wasn’t so little), crafted the technology behind the hydrogen bomb, and is the father of game theory. Theory of Games is his foundational text, and here’s what I learned within its pages: the entire theory was inspired by a single game—poker. “Real life consists of bluffing, of little tactics of deception, of asking yourself what is the other man going to
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