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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year was von Neumann appointed Atomic Energy Commissioner?

2. In what year did von Neumann slip and fall after being appointed commissioner?

3. What game is a cross between Deadlock and Chicken?

4. Where was the disastrous Secretary of the Navy's speech about neutralizing the Soviet threat made?

5. In Axelrod's tournaments, how many rounds would each computer program play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the tit-for-tat strategy?

2. Who devised the Stag Hunt game?

3. What happened to the initial game theory interest by the mid-1950s?

4. What is SAGE and why was it developed?

5. What was an example of a public nuclear game of chicken and who was involved?

6. What is backwards induction?

7. What is the madman strategy and how does it affect the game of chicken?

8. What game did people think nuclear warfare modeled and why did this change?

9. Who is Robert Axelrod and why did he hold tournaments?

10. What strategy dominated the original Ohio State studies and the later variations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In 1971 Martin Shubik published the dollar auction in a 1971 paper and is generally credited as the inventor of this game. What was involved in a game called "so long sucker?" Who collaborated on this game and how did it lead to the development of the dollar auction? How does Shubik describe a dollar auction and what makes it different from an auction at Sotheby's? What applications did the dollar auction have to real life and how did the dollar auction embody the non-rational behavior that many expected in game theory games as part of the logic of escalation in conflict?

Essay Topic 2

Why was John von Neumann considered a child prodigy? How did his genius affect his academic, professional and personal life? Beginning with von Neumann's childhood, chronicle his milestones in connection with his great intellect.

Essay Topic 3

Prisoner's Dilemma and Chicken are two social dilemmas of fundamental importance in human affairs. Why? Explain the parameters of each dilemma in relation to real life and then discuss what makes each dilemma so important to human affairs. Also, conclude with which dilemma you feel is the most important of the two in regards to human affairs, and why.

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