MS 152 - Game Theory

Professor: Erich Friedman

About the course:

We will meet MWF at 1:30 in Elizabeth 209. This course is an introduction to mathematical game theory. We will be studying three general types of games, and trying to answer the questions "Who wins?" and "How do they win?" Most days I will answer homework questions from the previous section for 10-15 minutes, play a game for 5-10 minutes, and discuss new material for about 30 minutes. You can find out what we will be doing each day in class by consulting the syllabus. Game Theory is a relatively new field of mathematics. The majority of the material we'll be learning was developed less than 75 years ago. I hope you enjoy learning it with me.

About me:

My e-mail address is efriedma@stetson.edu. My web page can be found at http://www.stetson.edu/~efriedma/. My office is Elizabeth 214-2, and my office extension is 7552. My office hours this semester are:

This means that I am always in my office during these times, and you can drop by without an appointment. If you cannot make my regularly scheduled hours, let me know and we can set up another time to talk. Please come by if you need help, or if you just want to chat. You will soon see that my lecture style is informal. I will be calling you by your first name (or a nickname if you prefer), so please call me Erich.

About you:

You do not need much math backround to appreciate this course. We will be adding and subtracting a lot, occasionally with fractions or decimals. We will use base two arithmetic, algebra, matrices, and probability, but I will review everything you need to know. You will need a calculator for part of the course, but not a sophisticated one. If you choose to come to class, come on time, and don't socialize in class.

About cell phones:

I hate them. If one goes off in class, for any reason, it's mine for the rest of the day.

About the math department:

I am usually available to answer your questions, either in my office or by e-mail. The math secretary has a list of paid tutors available at other times. I can make suggestions on which tutors might be the most helpful for this particular course. Please seek help as soon as you fall behind.

About your grade:

The Homework is to do every problem at the end of a section that I lecture on. The homework will not be collected, but I will answer homework questions in class as time permits. Since these problems will help prepare you for the tests, you should do them. Feel free to work together on the homework problems, but make sure you can do them by yourself by test time. Make sure you ask about homework problems that you can't do.

Quizzes and Tests will be given on the seven dates announced on the syllabus. Please check your schedule now to see that there are no conflicts. If you are going to miss a quiz or test, please arrange something with me beforehand. If you miss a quiz or test without telling me beforehand, you will lose 10% of your grade per day, no exceptions. On the quizzes and tests, you will be expected to show your work and explain your answers. Each quiz is worth 40 points, and each test is worth 100 points.

The Final Exam is comprehensive and is worth 200 points. There are a total of 660 points.