Overview

Game theory provides ways to understand and predict behavior in situations where participants are driven by goals. Developed by John von Neumann (1903-1959) and Oskar Morgenstern (1902-1977), game theory reveals patterns of advantage for participants and has been applied broadly in areas such as jury selection, investment decisions, military strategy, and medical analysis. Some game theory models, like the prisoners' dilemma and zero-sum games, have become part of common discourse.

Background

Von Neumann was actively involved in a wide range of mathematical activities. In the 1920s he became aware of a series of papers by Emile Borel (1871-1956) that gave mathematical form to mixed strategies (combining rational selection and chance). Von Neumann also discovered a limited minimax (from minimum/maximum) solution for certain games. In 1928, von Neumann provided a proof for the minimax theorem, establishing one of the pillars of game...