Prisoner's dilemma

Name: Prisoner's dilemma
ISBN: 038541580X

by William Poundstone · first published 1992

12mentions

7recommended by

11HN commenters

2008–2024first – last mentioned

64% recommend36% neutral

Why HN recommends it

Part biography of John von Neumann and part history of game theory and its Cold War origins; readers who enjoy history of ideas and the people behind them find it engaging and fascinating.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

Biography & Memoir Mathematics

Watching players bluff in a poker game inspired John von Neumann--father of the modern computer and one of the sharpest minds of the century--to construct game theory, a mathematical study of conflict and deception. Game theory was embraced at the RAND Corporation, the think tank charged with formulating military strategy for the atomic age, and in 1950 two RAND scientists discovered the "prisoner's dilemma"--A disturbing game where two or more people may betray the common good for individual gain. The prisoner's dilemma quickly became a popular allegory of the nuclear arms race. Game theory d

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What Hacker News says

jnazario · Aug 22, 2014 · Recommends

John von Neumann was an absolutely amazing human and scientist. truly a genius, a polymath, and evidently quite an interesting party guest. the book Prisoner's Dilemma is ostensibly about game theory but it's set within the context of von Neumann's life. really quite fascinating, one of my favorite people to study. http://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Dilemma-William-Poundstone/d...
on “The legend of John von Neumann (1973)” ↗
jonbaer · Mar 6, 2017 · Recommends

Prisoners of Geography - Tim Marshall The Revenge of Geography - Robert D. Kaplan Prisoner's Dilemma - William Poundstone The Master Algorithm - Pedro Domingos Zero-Sum Future - Gideon Rachman The End of History and the Last Man - Francis Fukuyama Entanglement - Amir Aczel
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗
jgmmo · Nov 18, 2021 · Recommends

I have had this great book for 10+ years, and still find it fascinating it's called "Prisoner's Dilemma: John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb". I try to re-read it on occasion. It's half John von Neumann biography and half subject matter history. Call him an unhinged lunatic if you…
on “The genius of John von Neumann” ↗
dsr_ · Jul 8, 2017 · Recommends

You might want The Prisoner's Dilemma, by William Poundstone, and if that intrigues you, Games of Strategy by Dixit and Skeath is a well-known textbook. Game theory has important effects on economics and marketing, as well as the obvious…
on “Tesla’s big battery in South Australia may prove the viability of renewables” ↗
n_t · Nov 15, 2019 · Recommends

You might like "Prisoner's Dilemma: John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb" (https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Dilemma-Neumann-Theory-Puzz...)
on “The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann” ↗
kryptiskt · Oct 31, 2012 · Recommends

I liked Ulam's Adventures of a Mathematician. William Poundstone's Prisoner's Dilemma is only partly a biography of von Neumann, still a good book. Gian-Carlo Rota's Indiscrete Thoughts is a mash of bits and pieces, largely about mathematical culture and personalities. I thought it was…
on “‘The Fractalist,’ Benoit B. Mandelbrot’s Math Memoir” ↗
kryptiskt · Sep 27, 2021 · Recommends

There's a fairly old book by William Poundstone "Prisoner's Dilemma: John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb". I can't vouch for it, as I read it long ago and don't remember just how much of a biography it was. It's very readable though.
on “What John von Neumann Did at Los Alamos” ↗
colortone · Nov 4, 2008 · Recommends

…constantly. In fact I went down the the LA public library and picked up 10 stellar titles just this weekend, I highly recommend all of these: - Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software [MIT] - Prisoner's Dilemma [William Poundstone] - Thinking Strategically [Nalebuff] - Co-opetition [Nalebuff] - Cluetrain Manifesto [Searls] - Open Sources 2.0 [O'Reilly] - Innovator's Dilemma [Christensen] - Net Worth [Hagel] -…
on “Do you read?” ↗
xiande04 · Sep 2, 2024 · Mentions

I thought the same thing reading this! I'm currently reading Prisoner's Dilemma by William Poundstone, which details the life of John von Neumann. According to his brother Nicholas, von Neumann likely got the idea to use punch cards for computers from the Jacquard loom. One of…
on “The Pentium as a Navajo Weaving” ↗
gruseom · Oct 8, 2013 · Mentions

…Lemay) pushed strongly for it, though others (such as Eisenhower, IIRC) had the wisdom to be appalled by the idea. Thankfully Truman refused. [1] I got all this from William Poundstone's book on the Prisoner's Dilemma. It's been years since I read it, so corrections on details are welcome. That is the climate that was satirized in Dr Strangelove. It was sordid on Russell's part to agitate for nuclear strikes, but…
on “Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness (1932)” ↗
throwaway729 · Mar 30, 2017 · Mentions

> It would be interesting to know what inspired him to write this. Maybe something equivalent to, e.g. modern string theory, which was pissing him off. Google found this in "Prisoner's Dilemma/John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb" by William Poundstone (page 29): "As the same time he insists that the best mathematics is usually inspired by practical problems. This can be…
on “The Mathematician (1947)” ↗
mneary · Jun 27, 2013 · Mentions

Prisoner's Dilemma by William Poundstone traces his development of game theory.
on “Is it too late to be awesome?” ↗