CGT is not Game Theory
…although this concept doesn't seem to catch when I try explaining it to people. I've given the following explanation many times:
- game theory = economics
- combinatorial game theory = games
Granted, this is a somewhat simplistic view, but it does provide a good general idea. In any case, it doesn't seem to help.
Today, I was accosted in the hallway near my office to help someone work through a mixed-strategy (simultaneous move) game. Fortunately, it was simple enough I eventually knew how to do it, but I'm beginning to be worried people will start taking me as a fraud due to my inexpertise in the area, despite it not actually being my field. On a separate occasion this afternoon, someone assured me that a Nobel Prize in Economics had been awarded for "combinatorial game theory"; and again today, another individual emailed me a payoff matrix expecting my familiarity with it.
I suppose the problem of explaining your technical field is fairly common. Perhaps I needn't worry too much, since I probably know more about standard game theory than anyone prone to making this kind of mistake; however, seeing the same confusion three times in one day suggests I need to adopt a new strategy to deal with the situation.
I wouldn't mind learning enough game theory in the economic sense to keep up appearances, but I probably don't have time for that in the near future. So, I think I have no choice but to lie about the name of my field. Any mention of "games" will immediately be linked to popular game theory, no matter how much explaining I do. CGT could be seen as a subfield of "recreational mathematics", but then I might need to explain that it is, in fact, professional research. I might be able to get away with "combinatorics", or make up a name like "combinatorial, two-actor decision-tree analysis". What do you think?
(note: post written when tired, explaining the lacks of sense made)
2005-10-20 at 1.49 pm
What? You mean you aren't in school to play games?
Many of us have trouble understanding because we have no knowledge or vocabulary in this area whatsoever. I have heard you say "game theory" without "combinatorial" as your field of study, leading me to think that CGT is just a more specialized branch of game theory. You might just want to call it math…
Weren't you supposed to be marking quizzes?
2005-10-26 at 8.03 pm
Err…Now what do I do? I have been defending your Canadian relocation with phrases like, "It has alot of possible economic applications (listener thinks 'next Allen Greenspan')," and "have you ever seen the movie A Beautiful Mind? (listener thinks 'troubled and eccentric genius')" Now that I know your studies can't be applied to things like saving baby seals, things are going to be a lot more difficult!