John Harsanyi
John Charles Harsanyi, a pioneer in game theory, died on August 9th, aged 80
IT SOUNDS pretty obvious: life is all a game. Charles Lamb (1775-1834) put it rather elegantly: “Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.” What John Harsanyi and other economists did was to apply mathematical logic to this human urge and make game theory, as it is called, part of their tool kit. At its humblest level, game theory is useful in saving the players from going mad. In devising a strategy you know that your rival may know what you are planning, and he knows that you know he knows, and so on... Even skilled chess-players can feel mentally wounded.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “John Harsanyi”
Obituary September 9th 2000
From the September 9th 2000 edition
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