A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature

A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature
by Tom Siegfried

A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature
List Price: $27.95
Our Price: $6.00
You Save: $21.95 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Tom Siegfried
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-25
ISBN: 0309101921
Number of pages: 255
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780309101929
  • Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
  • Notes:

Book Reviews of A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature

Book Review: Game theory and more made accessible
Summary: 4 Stars

When I first picked up this book, I was not expecting the variety of topics that are covered inside. More than simply game theory and Nash equilibrium topics, the book goes into chaos theory, graph theory, and a variety of other topics. What makes the book very accessible are the plentiful examples - both classical and contrived - that are used to explain the various theories. While the casual reader can get something out of this book, there is enough in-depth material to be of interest to more advanced reader as well.

Summary of A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature

Millions have seen the movie and thousands have read the book but few have fully appreciated the mathematics invented by John Nash's beautiful mind. Today Nash's beautiful math has become a universal language for research in the social sciences and has infiltrated the realms of evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and even quantum physics.

John Nash won the 1994 Nobel Prize in economics for pioneering research published in the 1950s on a new branch of mathematics known as game theory. At the time of Nash's early work, game theory was briefly popular among some mathematicians and Cold War analysts. But it remained relatively obscure until the 1970s, when evolutionary biologists began to find it useful. In the 1980s economists began to embrace game theory. Since then game theory math has found an ever expanding repertoire of applications among a wide range of scientific disciplines.

Today neuroscientists peer into game players' brains, anthropologists play games with people from primitive cultures, biologists use games to explain the evolution of human language, and mathematicians exploit games to better understand social networks.

A common thread connecting much of this research is its relevance to the ancient quest for a science of human social behavior, or "a Code of Nature," in the spirit of the fictional science of psychohistory described in the famous Foundation novels by the late Isaac Asimov. In A Beautiful Math, acclaimed science writer Tom Siegfried describes how game theory links the life sciences, social sciences and physical sciences in a way that may bring Asimov's dream closer to reality.

Game Theory Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Books That I Wish To Have: Part 1
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Commemorative Edition) (Princeton Classic Editions) ImageTheory of Games and Economic Behavior (Commemorative Edition) (Princeton Classic Editions)
by John von Neumann, Oskar Morgenstern
Princeton University Press; Published: 2004-05-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $99.50
The Neumann Compendium (World Scientific Series in 20th Century Mathematics, Vol 1) ImageThe Neumann Compendium (World Scientific Series in 20th Century Mathematics, Vol 1)
by John Von Neumann, Tibor Vamos, F. Brody
World Scientific Publishing Company; Published: 1995-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $165.93
The Legacy of John von Neumann (Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics) ImageThe Legacy of John von Neumann (Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics)
by James Glimm, John Impagliazzo, Isadore Singer
Amata Graphics; Published: 2006-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $43.00
The Computer and the Brain: Second Edition (Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Lectures) ImageThe Computer and the Brain: Second Edition (Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Lectures)
by John von Neumann
Yale University Press; Published: 2000-07-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: $11.00
Modeling And Computations in Dynamical Systems: In Commeration Of The 100th Anniversary Of The Birth Of John von Neumann ImageModeling And Computations in Dynamical Systems: In Commeration Of The 100th Anniversary Of The Birth Of John von Neumann
by et al Eusebius J. Doedel (Editor)
World Scientific Publishing Company; Published: 2006-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $133.00
Price in other shops: $137.00
Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics ImageMathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics
by John von Neumann
Princeton University Press; Published: 1996-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.62
Price in other shops: $75.00
John Von Neumann: The Scientific Genius Who Pioneered the Modern Computer, Game Theory, Nuclear Deterrence, and Much More ImageJohn Von Neumann: The Scientific Genius Who Pioneered the Modern Computer, Game Theory, Nuclear Deterrence, and Much More
by Norman MacRae
Amer Mathematical Society; Published: 2000-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.36
Price in other shops: $32.00
John von Neumann: Selected Letters ImageJohn von Neumann: Selected Letters
by John von Neumann
American Mathematical Society, London Mathematical Society; Published: 2005-11-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $61.95
Price in other shops: $62.00
John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death ImageJohn von Neumann and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death
by Steve Joshua Heims
The MIT Press; Published: 1982-06-17; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $13.50
John Von Neumann ImageJohn Von Neumann
by Norman Macrae
Pantheon; Published: 1992-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: $25.00
Similar Books and other products
Prisoner's Dilemma ImagePrisoner's Dilemma
by William Poundstone
Anchor; Published: 1993-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.96
Price in other shops: $17.00
Foundation (Foundation Novels) ImageFoundation (Foundation Novels)
by Isaac Asimov
Spectra; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.82
Price in other shops: $14.00
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life ImageRock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life
by Len Fisher
Basic Books; Published: 2008-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops: $15.95
Complexity: A Guided Tour ImageComplexity: A Guided Tour
by Melanie Mitchell
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.78
Price in other shops: $29.95
Forward the Foundation (Foundation Novels) ImageForward the Foundation (Foundation Novels)
by Isaac Asimov
Spectra; Published: 1994-03-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops: $7.99
PREDICTING POLITICS ImagePREDICTING POLITICS
by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Ohio State University Press; Published: 2002-06-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.92
Price in other shops: $24.95
A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash ImageA Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash
by Sylvia Nasar
Touchstone; Published: 2001-12-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.54
Price in other shops: $17.99
Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction ImageGame Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction
by Morton D. Davis
Dover Publications; Published: 1997-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.35
Price in other shops: $10.95
The Essential John Nash ImageThe Essential John Nash
by John Nash
Princeton University Press; Published: 2007-02-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.04
Price in other shops: $19.95
John Nash: A Beautiful Genius ImageJohn Nash: A Beautiful Genius
PEACE ARCH HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2002-06-18; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops: $5.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories