Note to self: the world loves 2×2 tables.

It appears that one cannot go wrong with something as simple as a two-by-two table (produced in Excel) in a blog post.  The three biggest traffic generating posts that I have personally done involve the Prisoner’s Dilemma (it is about a 2×2 game!) that received link love from Freakonomics, the Dark Knight Ferry game which … Read more

The Dark Knight and Game Theory

If you have not already seen The Dark Knight, then you should read this post at a later time as to avoid spoilers after the jump.  Otherwise, follow the jump for a game theoretic discussion derived from the movie that has already broken two box office records for both best midnight opening and top first day revenue.  I personally enjoyed the movie immensely, but that discussion does not follow.

So, officially, consider this a spoiler alert for what follows.

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Stats Professors and State Lotteries

Last month, Washington and Lee professor Scott Hoover announced that he intended to sue the Virginia State Lottery (a threat that became a lawsuit yesterday).  Hoover, a business finance professor, wasn’t upset that he didn’t win the lottery–he was upset that it had become impossible to win the prize.  His complaint is that the Virginia … Read more

Monty Hall still wants to make a deal

The New York Times recently highlighted a piece by M. Keith Chen that argues that some of the classic behavioral studies in psychology suffer from the Monty Hall Problem.  The basic situation game: An actor is presented with three choices (doors), A, B, and C.  There are two outcomes randomly distributed behind each door: a … Read more