John+von+Neumann


 * The Father of Game Theory** - John von Neumann December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957



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Von Neumann founded the field of [|game theory] as a mathematical discipline. Von Neumann proved his [|minimax theorem] in 1928. This theorem establishes that in [|zero-sum games] with perfect information (i.e., in which players know at each time all moves that have taken place so far), there exists a pair of strategies for both players that allows each to minimize his maximum losses (hence the name minimax). When examining every possible strategy, a player must consider all the possible responses of his adversary. The player then plays out the strategy that will result in the minimization of his maximum loss.

Such strategies, which minimize the maximum loss for each player, are called optimal. Von Neumann showed that their minimaxes are equal (in absolute value) and contrary (in sign). Von Neumann improved and extended the minimax theorem to include games involving imperfect information and games with more than two players, publishing this result in his 1944 //[|Theory of Games and Economic Behavio]// (written with Oskar Morgenstern).

Reference; [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann#Game_theory] //[|Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour]// []


 * The Forgotten Father of Game Theory** - Emile Borel:

In 1921, Emile Borel, a French mathematician, published several papers on the theory of games. He used poker as an example and addressed the problem of bluffing and second-guessing the opponent in a game of imperfect information. Borel envisioned game theory as being used in economic and military applications. Borel's ultimate goal was to determine whether a "best" strategy for a given game exists and to find that strategy. While Borel could be arguably called as the first mathematician to envision an organized system for playing games, he did not develop his ideas very far. For that reason, most historians give the credit for developing and popularizing game theory to John Von Neumann, who published his first paper on game theory in 1928, seven years after Borel.

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