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Category Archives: Games
Test Your Intuition (21): Auctions
You run a single-item sealed bid auction where you sell an old camera. There are three bidders and the value of the camera for each of them is described by a certain (known) random variable: With probability 0.9 the value … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Games, Test your intuition
Tagged Auctions, Roger Myerson, Test your intuition
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Itai Ashlagi, Yashodhan Kanoria, and Jacob Leshno: What a Difference an Additional Man makes?
We are considering the stable marriage theorem. Suppose that there are n men and n women. If the preferences are random and men are proposing, what is the likely average women’s rank of their husbands, and what is the likely average … Continue reading
Test Your Intuition (19): The Advantage of the Proposers in the Stable Matching Algorithm
Stable mariage The Gale-Shapley stable matching theorem and the algorithm. GALE-SHAPLEY THEOREM Consider a society of n men and n women and suppose that every man [and every woman] have a preference (linear) relation on the women [men] he [she] knows. Then … Continue reading
Test Your Intuition (17): What does it Take to Win Tic-Tac-Toe
(A few more quantum posts are coming. But let’s have a quick break for games.) Tic Tac Toe is played since anciant times. For the common version, where the two players X and O take turns in marking the empty squares … Continue reading
Ann Lehman’s Sculpture Based on Herb Scarf’s Maximal Lattice Free Convex Bodies
Maximal lattice-free convex bodies introduced by Herb Scarf and the related complex of maximal lattice free simplices (also known as the Scarf complex) are remarkable geometric constructions with deep connections to combinatorics, convex geometry, integer programming, game theory, fixed point computations, … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Computer Science and Optimization, Economics, Games
Tagged Ann Lehman, Herb Scarf
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Angry Bird Skepticism
Lenore Holditch is a freelance writer. Here is what she wrote to me: “I love learning about new topics, so I am confident that I can provide valuable content for your blog on any topic you wish, else I can … Continue reading
Posted in Games, Rationality
Tagged Angry bird, Lenore Holditch, Too good to be true
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The Privacy Paradox of Rann Smorodinsky
The following paradox was raised by Rann Smorodinsky: Rann Smorodinsky’s Privacy Paradox Suppose that you have the following one-time scenario. You want to buy a sandwich where the options are a roast beef sandwich or an avocado sandwich. Choosing … Continue reading
Eyal Sulganik: Towards a Theory of “Mathematical Accounting”
The following post was kindly contributed by Eyal Sulganik from IDC (Interdiciplinary Center) Herzliya. Eyal was motivated by our poll on certainty “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which is related to several issues in accounting. Mathematicians, I believe, are always looking … Continue reading
Galvin’s Proof of Dinitz’s Conjecture
Dinitz’ conjecture The following theorem was conjectured by Jeff Dinitz in 1979 and proved by Fred Galvin in 1994: Theorem: Consider an n by n square table such that in each cell (i,j) you have a set with n or more elements. … Continue reading
Posted in Combinatorics, Games
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Another way to Revolutionize Football
The angle of Victoria Beckham’s hat (here in a picture from a recent wedding) is closely related to our previous post on football One of the highlights of the recent Newton Institute conference on discrete harmonic analysis was a football … Continue reading
