In this course we have discussed the importance of a network’s structure, and how a node’s position in that structure helps to determine the balance of power in that network.  This idea is demonstrated very well in the film The Battle of Algiers (1965).  In this film the French army is engaged in a guerilla-warfare […]

With the obesity epidemic sweeping our nation by the thousands, health professionals have been as busy as ever and the media industry has followed not too far behind. The introduction of weight-loss reality shows took America by a storm. Most found it preposterous and controversial; they viewed it as an excuse to ridicule […]

http://www.slate.com/id/2146867/
The article above is from August 2006 and discusses the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The subheading, “Can game theory solve the Israel-Lebanon war?” sounds hopeful, but the article downplays game theory’s ability to analyze political situations. It discusses prisoner’s dilemma, which it describes as an oversimplified model that is “too seductive.” […]

Looking for something to write about for my Econ 204 post, I stumbled upon gametheory.net—a comprehensive site on game theory (as its name obviously suggests).  The site has information about game theory books, a dictionary of game theory terms, links to news on game theory, a section on game theory in pop culture, and, of course, […]

Why do certain songs sound so good? Why are there simple tunes that are so catchy? How can we tell immediately that some sounds just don’t go well together? Of course, there are many factors that contribute to how music is interpreted by human ears, but much can be understood by seeing the networks behind […]

The Office of Population Research at Princeton University explores historic, present and future trends in population growth, decline and control, which in turn has consequences for network structure and interaction, economic viability, social mobility, governmental regulation and environmental capacity. One of the most famous experiments conducted in this field is the Princeton European Fertility […]

Last Call: Analog Cell Phone Service Disappearing:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142119-c,cellphones/article.html
When one thinks of networks one usually thinks of a large cellular network. On February 18 analog cell phone service will be shut down permanently. AT&T and Verizon, the “biggest U.S. mobile operators” decided that there will be no more analog service offered […]

http://www.chicagogsb.edu/capideas/jan08/3.aspx
http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-055.pdf
This is one of the five topics that Ben posted in his blog recently.
How do mutual fund managers of billions of dollars choose which stock to invest in?
The article in the link above and the video in the second link reveal an interesting discovery. That’s right; mutual fund managers turn to their educational network. The […]

I’d like to point out five very exciting articles / links that people should definitely check out:

Finance / Investing: Researchers from Harvard Business School have found that portfolio managers do better when they invest on firms they have personal connections with (went to college / grad school with). In fact returns on ‘connected’ investments were […]

In poker, there rarely are any pure strategies; almost all equilibriums are composed of mixed strategies. The question that must be asked is: how do you strategically play a hand with so little information? If poker was a game of perfect information, it would be very bland. For instance, if you knew […]