Economist to lecture on Nash, game theory

By Adrienne Sakyi

World-renowned economist Dr. Ariel Rubinstein will visit Flagler College to lecture on “John Nash, A Beautiful Mind and Game Theory.”

For those wondering what game theory is, it is a branch of math and economics that studies situations where players choose different actions to maximize their returns. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry. “The lecture is aimed to any student including those who have never heard about economics or game theory,” Rubinstein said.

Ivan Kelly, chair of the department of Business Administration, agrees with Rubinstein. “Game theory is used in biology, theology, business and political science. This is a general audience speaker,” Kelly said.

In addition to game theory, Rubinstein will talk about John Nash, the game theory pioneer who was the inspiration for the 2001 movie, “A Beautiful Mind.”

“We both know Nash,” Kelly said. “The movie was not all Nash. Some of it was Hollywood. He will point out the differences between the movie and real life.”

Rubinstein is a professor at New York University and Tel Aviv University in Israel. Rubinstein, who was born in Jerusalem, now spends most of the year in Israel at Tel Aviv where he holds the Salzberg Chair.

In preparation for the lecture, Rubinstein has created an interactive Web site — http://gametheory.tau.ac.il/flagler/ — based on his game theory site designed for teachers or those who plan to attend.

The lecture takes place Friday, Oct. 6, in the Flagler College Auditorium at 3 p.m.

For more on Rubinstein’s visit: http://arielrubinstein.tau.ac.il/