TEGIST
THE STR
The KGPian Game Theory Society
February’13
BURNING BRIDGES
LAWS OF POWER
Edition 3
SPLIT OR STEAL
HALL POLITICS
LETS PLAY A GAME
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ave you ever watched the Television game show 'Khul Ja Sim Sim'? You might not have been lucky enough to be on the show. So here we offer you a chance to play this game with us.You are standing before three closed doors. One lucky door leads to your dream car and the other two conceal complete trash that makes your host go “TAI TAI FISH”. Now, you are given the chance to choose any one of them. Let's say you choose one of the three at random. Now
So dear reader, what do you think? Should you switch your door or not? Is it that you have chosen the right door and now the game show host is deliberately trying to mislead you into choosing the wrong door? After all, the host is a crony of the people paying for the car and they definitely don't want you to win it! Think for a while before we give you the answer. Done? Need help? All right then, we suggest you should better thank the host for his very generous offer and switch your choice! But how does it really matter, you ask? There would only be two possible outcomes, you say-either you win the car or not. Well it isn't that
simple. Dust the Grime of your brain cells and try to recollect Baye's Theorem (Yep, back to good old JEE days!) So, here we go! Earlier when you were asked by the host to choose a door, you will agree with me that you had a 1/3 chance of winning the car. Now, after the host reveals a door (not selected by you) having a fish, there are three routes. Suppose door 1 contains a fish, door 2 again a fish, and door 3, the car. Now there could be three possible ways of playing the game: 1. You chose door 1, host opens the 2nd, and then asks you to make the switch if you wish. 2. You chose door 2, host opens the 1st, and then asks you to make the switch if you wish. 3. You chose door 3, host opens either of 1st or 2nd door, and then asks you to make the switch. Now, if you stick to your decision even when you are offered a switch, you have a chance of winning the car only through one route out of the
here comes the interesting part. Your host (who, by the way, knows exactly what is behind each door) opens one of the doors (not chosen by you) that contains the fish. And now, the host offers you another opportunity and asks if you want to switch your choice to the other door which is still closed. TIME TO PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAPS! possible three, the third one. That is, your chance of winning the car is 1/3. But, if you switch, you get yourself a Switching
Not Switching
Case 1
Win
Lose
Case 2
Win
Lose
Case 3
Lose
Win
brand new car in two out of the possible three ways. That's 2/3 doubling your probability of winning the car. Another way of understanding this is in the following way: Suppose you chose door 1 initially, your chances of winning are 1/3 (since the car can be behind any of the three doors). So the probability that the car is behind either door 2 or door 3 is 1 – 1/3 = 2/3. Since the car is not behind door 2 - the one, which the hosts open to reveal trash but still the
combined probability of car being behind door 2 or door 3 is 2/3 and since it is not behind door 2 the probability that the car is behind door Door 1
Door 2
Door 3
1/3
1/3
1/3
1/3
1/3
2/3
FISH
2/3
3 is now 2/3. So it would be advisable to switch the door. Thus you double your chances of winning if you switch! So, the poor game show host, whom you suspected of trying to derail your chances of winning, is willingly or unwillingly actually on your side!
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WELCOME TO CHANNU'S WORLD!
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ello folks. The KGPian Game Theory Society is back with another edition of The Strategist- a periodic paper that aims to spread the culture of strategic thinking among KGPians. Started in April 2012, The Strategist is now the most widely read campus paper of IIT Kharagpur with the highest online viewership*- we thank you for that! In this edition we have presented some original and inspired ideas in a manner that is easily comprehendible.In this edition, the new members of the society have contributed a lot in terms of articles and we as editors commend them for coming up with such wonderful articles. There is also a glossary of technical terms for those who are reading our paper for the first time. As you go through the articles like “Dilemmas of KGP Hall Politics” and “Never Outshine the Master” you will realize how integral role game theory plays in your day to day life. You will also notice how various game shows across the world and little battles of life can be won using the basic concepts of game theory.This edition also introduces “Channu” , the new cool avatar of the greatest game theorist of all time Chanakya! He will be your companion in this wonderful journey of strategies, supplying a new tip at every crossroad. Tips, that are bound to make you more successful in life. But beware! Channu is a strategist, and not a social worker! Not everything he suggests might sound like ideal behaviour for a good person, but it will surely get you what you want, even if that means manipulating your loved ones to achieve your goals. So feel free to appreciate the tips we offer, but use them only after applying your own experience and conscience. And with that we welcome you to take plunge into the fascinating world of strategic thinking. *As per number of views on issuu.com
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The KGPian Game Theory Society
TERMS USED IN THIS EDITION Game: An interaction among rational players (individuals or groups) such that the decisions of some players have an impact on the benefit to other players. A game is described by its players, their actions and their corresponding payoffs. Game Theory: Game Theory is the study of the strategic decision making whenever two or more players are involved in any cooperating or conflicting situation. Payoffs: Payoffs in a game represent the utility gained (+ve)/ lost(-ve) by the players depending on the actions taken by all the players in the game. Payoffs in a game are generally represented in the form of a payoff matrix. cooperate Betray cooperate Betray The first entry in
PLAYER B
cooperate Betray cooperate
Betray
(-1,-1)
(-5,0)
(0,-5)
(-3,-3)
the payoff matrix represents the payoff of the row player and the second entry represents the payoff of the column player. Rational Behaviour : Players are assumed to be rational, i.e. their only objective is to maximise their own payoff irrespective of whether their action increases or decreases the other player's payoff. Dominant Strategy: A strategy is dominant if, regardless of what any
other players do, the strategy earns a player a larger payoff than any other. In the above situation you may observe that for Player A, Betrayal is the dominant strategy since whatever player B chooses A will get a higher payoff(i.e. lesser loss) by betraying (0>-1) (-3>-5). Nash Equilibrium: It is a strategic profile from which no player would like to deviate as deviating from this strategic profile would hurt the payoff of the player. You may check for yourself that (Betrayal, Betrayal) is the Nash Equilibrium for the above game. In general a game may have multiple or no Nash Equilibriums. Prisoner's Dilemma: The above matrix represents the prisoner's dilemma situation.
BURNING YOUR BRIDGES
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ou are the legendary KING of Persiapowerful, majestic and ambitious. Near the shores of your kingdom, there is an unclaimed island with many riches and resources apt for a king for making his kingdom shine. It's for sure you want that island. But nothing is won without sweat. In your neighbouring country Shehjanabad , lives your rival king, as powerful, majestic and greedy as you. And he also has an eye on that island. Now comes the important part. There's a bridge between your country and the island. Same is condition for his part. Both of you want complete control over the island and its wealth and hence your only option is war and since both of you don't really have a naval force this would imply a land battle on the island, for which you'll need to cross your respective bridges. Now, suppose on the day
of battle you cross the bridge first with your army in order to claim the island. Well your friend can also do the same. And if he does he can challenge you to fight for the island. Do remember, to a wise king his men are as important as his kingdom, due to which one part of you wants to avoid the fight. At the same time another part also strives for the island and doesn't want to lose it. So the best case scenario for you would be for your opponent to surrender his claim on the island.
the situation by assigning suitable payoffs for your actions taking into account the possible actions of your enemy. 1.If both armies attack then both lose their men, and since you are both equally strong nobody wins. Both have negated the enemy’s claim but have also lost enough men. Let us give a payoff(1,1) to both. 2.If one attacks and other concedes the payoffs are(3,2) . 3 to attacking one and 2 to receding one. Since conceding a battle causes less dent to the economy and human resource the payoff 2>1 has been assigned to the conceder . For he has lost the island but lives to fight another day in future Keeping the above in mind, SHOULD YOU BURN THE BRIDGE OR NOT?
Well, your Army has crossed the Let’s say you want to play safe and bridge. Just when you are about to don’t burn the bridge. Now your set up a camp for your men your enemy has two options: attack or minister says “Your majesty, I concede. If you respond to the think we should burn and destroy attack you get a payoff of 1 but if our bridge!” You are confused by you retreat and go back to Persia this insane advice to eliminate you save resources and get a higher t h e o n l y payoff of 2. ...But now let's say you burn transport route Thus in a you have. Now, the bridge. The enemy again ituation WEAR YOUR has the same two where you T H I N K I N G options.However, you have face a strong C A P S , a n d only one- and that is to fight... enemy and m a k e A have an DECISION option or WHETHER TO BURN THE retreat, conceding will be in your BRIDGE OR NOT. Be quick! best interest. The enemy can TIME'S RUNNING OUT and you foresee this. If he attacks and you don't know what decision your retreat (which you likely will) he rival had made. To enable you to gets payoff 3 whereas by make this descision , let's analyse conceding he only gets 2. So he
(Cooperate, Cooperate) would have been a better strategic profile for the players but still they would go for the dominant strategy as defecting of one player from (Cooperate, Cooperate) could lead to a huge fall in the payoff of other player. Burning bridges: The act of eliminating your options of escaping or reversing your decisions. For more on these terms refer to the previous two editions of The Strategist .http://issuu.com/the.kgts/docs
Senchandra
will surely attack and you in all likelihood will lose the island. But now let’s say you burn the bridge. The enemy again has the same two options. However, you have only one- and that is to fight. The enemy can see that if he attacks so will you and he gets a payoff of 1. But if he concedes he gets 2. Clearly conceding will be a wiser choice for him and you will have increased your chances of winning the island. But now let's say you burn the bridge. The enemy again has the same two options. However, you have only one- and that is to fight. The enemy can see that if he attacks so will you and he gets a payoff of 1. But if he concedes he gets 2. Clearly conceding will be a wiser choice for him and you will have increased your chances of winning the island. Indeed your minister is a wise man and burning your bridges is in your best interest. This strategy has historically been applied by many armies and is still in use today.
The Strategist 3
The KGPian Game Theory Society
LAWS OF POWER: NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTERVaibhav Bhargava
K
GP is a place full of talented individuals with a desire to excel in all fields of life. However it is also a place with a strong culture of hierarchy-most prominent in the Gymkhana and the Halls of Residence. It is this culture that leads to people trying to constantly prove their worth and attract attention of those above them. It's a practice that you will come across even more after your graduation. However, in your desire to please and impress your masters, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite inspiring fear and insecurity and cause your own downfall. Let us understand this fact through some examples.
fireworks followed by a
performance by Moliere, who was considered to be the greatest master of comedy in Europe. The party ran well into the night and everyone agreed it was the most amazing affair they had ever seen. A LESSON FROM The next day, T H E Fouquet was PAST: “.....each appreciative smile arrested by the bestowed by the guests on k i n g ' s m e n . N i c o l a s Fouquet, made it seem to Louis Three months Fouquet, that his own friends and subjects later he went on L o u i s were more charmed by the trial for stealing X I V ' s finance minister than by the f r o m t h e f i n a n c e king himself....� country's t r e a s u r y minister (actually, most in the first of the stealing he was accused of years of his reign, was a generous had been done on the king's behalf man who loved lavish parties, and with the king's permission) pretty women, poetry and gold. and was sent to the most isolated Fouquet was clever and very much prison in France, where he spent indispensable to the king, so when the last twenty years of his life in the prime minister, Jules Mazarin, solitary confinement. died, in 1661, the finance minister was expected to be named the INTERPRETATION: successor. Instead, the king The evening of the party, as decided to abolish the position. Fouquet presented spectacle on This and other signs made spectacle to Louis he thought he Fouquet suspect that he was was demonstrating his loyalty and falling out of favor, and so he devotion to the king. Instead, each decided to ingratiate himself with appreciative smile bestowed by the king by staging the most specthe guests on Fouquet, made it tacular party the world had ever seem to Louis that his own friends seen. The party's apparent purpose and subjects were more charmed would be to commemorate the by the finance minister than by the completion of Fouquet's chateau, king himself. Rather than but its real function was to pay flattering Louis XIV, Fouquet's tribute to the king and sing songs elaborate party offended the king's of his greatness. vanity. Louis would not admit this The most brilliant nobility of Europe attended the party. The to anyone, of course - instead, he party had a lavish seven-course found a convenient excuse to get dinner which was accompanied himself rid of the man who had with music and songs to honor the inadvertently made him feel king. After dinner there was a insecure. Fouquet was later leisure walk through the chateau's replaced by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, gardens for which Fouquet a man famous for his parsimony personally accompanied the and for giving the dullest parties in young king. At the garden's canal Paris. was an extravagant show of
committing harmless mistakes. A master who cannot bestow on you the gifts of his experience may The above story about the fall of want you out of sight. Remember Nicolas Fouquet may have led those high school teachers who some of you to say that we are well could not bear the sight of you past the times of kings and simply because you were smarter dictatorships. So let's take a look than them? at similar incident from modern It is not a weakness to disguise day India. When the first season y o u r of the famous I n d i a n "....Could it be that for nearly 3 years strengths if P r e m i e r the BCCI, the largest cricketing body in the end League came in the world had no knowledge of Mr. they lead to power. By up, it was Modi's practices or was it is his sudden letting marked with o t h e r s international rise to fame and a constant limelight v i e w e r s h i p , that had put him out of favor with outshine skimpily clad you, you cheerleaders, late night alcohol parties and extensive media coverage of one man- Mr. Lalit Modi, its Chief Commissioner and an employee of the BCCI, who himself was often found posing with pretty women in these extravagant parties. Overnight the IPL had made Mr. Modi a celebrity, while his counterparts and seniors including the BCCI president Sharad Pawar still led the background life of a government official. In 2010 after 2 successful editions of the IPL Modi was remain in control, instead of being charged with corrupt practices and a victim of their insecurity. This stripped off his post. He was will all come in handy the day you replaced by Mr. Chirayu Amin, a decide to rise above your present relatively less flamboyant person. status. Modi now has multiple warrants issued against him and leads a life TURNING THE TIDE: of exile in London. If it is the highest power you seek, What do you think now, can you and your superior is a falling star, see a stark similarity in the manner there is nothing to fear from of unfolding of above events with outshining him. Do not be those of 17th century France? merciful-your master had no such Could it be that for nearly 3 years scruples in his own cold-blooded the BCCI, the largest cricketing climb to the top. Gauge his body in the world had no strength. If he is weak, discreetly knowledge of Mr. Modi's hasten his downfall: Outdo, practices or was it is his sudden outcharm and outsmart him at key rise to fame and a constant moments. If he is very weak and limelight that had put him out of ready to fall, let nature take its favor with those above him? We course. Do not risk outshining a take a diplomatic step here and feeble superior-it might appear leave it for you to answer these cruel and people (be it your questions. society members, batchmates or office colleagues) may turn on PRACTICING THE you. But if your master is firm in LAW: his position, yet you know Knowing the dangers of yourself to be the more capable, outshining your master, you can bide your time and be patient. (In turn this Law to your advantage. the case of KGP, we advise you to nd First you must flatter and puff up wait at least till the end of your 2 your master. Be discreet. If you are year). It is the natural course of more intelligent than your master, things that power eventually fades for example, seem the opposite. and weakens. Your master will fall State him as the cause of all your someday, and if you play it right, accomplishments. Make it seem you will outlive and someday that you need his expertise by
A LESSON FROM THE PRESENT:
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The KGPian Game Theory Society
WHEN VAN PERSIE BURNT HIS BRIDGES
T
his one is for al l you ManU fans out there!Robin Van Persie a.k.a RVP was the captain of Arsenal Football Club and was voted best player in the English Premier League. By the end of the 2011-12 season of the EPL, he had one year left in his contract. It was his 8th year at the club . He was 29 at that time and generally the years, 33 to 35 are considered to be the twilight period of a professional footballer's career. All the longterm football contracts lie between 3 to 5 years. Thus, it was the last major deal he could sign at any football club . Though Arsenal is financially stable but it doesn't have deep pockets like other clubs, so the maximum they could offer was £150,000 per week. RVP could get double the wages he would get at Arsenal if he had moved to another big club. It would also mean greater chance of winning major trophies as the Gunners hadn't won anything for the past 8 years . Thus all the factors indicate that leaving is the best possible option he could take. But the problem was that he was at Arsenal for 8 years and had some lengthy injury spells, the general perception among the fans was that he should payback the faith they had in him - when Arsene Wenger (manager of AFC) supported him through all those lengthy layoffs. So he would be held in considerable bad light if he left Arsenal. RVP had these options: ·Sign a contract at Arsenal. ·Stay at Arsenal without signing the contract. ·Move abroad. ·Move to Manchester City/ Manchester United. The first option is ruled out due to
factors mentioned above. Running down the contract is a risky matter. He was on a hot streak then and he would be less of a hotcake as he would turn 30 by then. The wages he would be offered after one year would be inferior too. There was also a possibility of injury which would derail any transfer move. But the only positive is that he would still have a great connection with the fans.Moving abroad is possibly the best option available. It would safeguard all the factors. He would earn great money along with major
but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward . I've thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract. You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions. I love the club and the fans, no matter what happens. I have grown up and became a man during my time with Arsenal FC. Everybody at the club and the fans have
“........RVP made a great strategic move by burning bridges with Arsenal and effectively putting himself in the transfer market......” honours. Fan reaction would also be less violent and more understanding if he moved abroad. Moving to City/United would also guarantee money and silverware but there would be huge backlash from the fans and he would be branded as a villain and a betrayer.
What happened? RVP posted a message on his personal website without informing the club - which in short is: "I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days. Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger ,the players and the fans I don't want to go into any details,
always supported me over the years and I have always given my all (and more) on and off the pitch.” There was a rumour at that time that some Italian clubs was seriously interested in securing a move for RVP. So RVP probably thought of moving abroad to Juventus and while doing so he wanted to leave on a positive note with the fans. If we look closely at his message, it is observed that he tried to sympathize with the fans. By posting this note while keeping the club in dark, he caught everyone off-guard. It definitely meant breakdown of all contract negotiations. Thus RVP made a great strategic move by burning
WINNING BY LOSING
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ho does not like winning? But have you ever thought that to win you might actually have to lose first? You must have heard of the reality show “Biggest Loser Wins”. Well, it is about how you lose weight to earn health and wealth. Similarly, losing a pawn or another chess piece is a strategy aiming at long run benefit of the chess player. Game theory provides innumerous examples where losing becomes essential for winning, one of which is cited below. Consider two games, game A and game B. Following are the rules: Game A: The game is called 'Loser'. As the name suggests, if you play this game you will definitely lose and pay INR 3. Game B: The game is called 'Hi 5'. Here if the amount of money you
Sourya Kakarla (original)
bridges with Arsenal and effectively putting himself in the transfer market as Arsenal didn't have any options left other than selling him or keeping an unhappy player for a year and then losing him for free. Thus RVP assumed that this message would kick off a chain of events that would make him end up at some big club abroad. But what happened was that Juventus was the only foreign club which was interested in making an offer and they got involved in a match-fixing mess. Thus he had the only option of moving to Manchester as both City and United were keen to sign him. He chose MUFC probably due to the stability of the club unlike their neighbours. The result wasn't strategically as good as moving abroad (when analysed at that time). So even though RVP used the art of burning bridges cleverly, factors which he had no control of made him move to United. Though moving to United wasn't on his mind when he posted that note, it isn't a bad outcome considering he is still in great form and on course to win the league. So RVP, dubbed 'The Flying Dutchman', did fly indeed!
Shyla Gangwar
have is a multiple of 5, you win since you lose every time. Playing INR 8. If not, you lose INR 6. Game B exclusively is also not so You are supposed to play 1000 appealing and is a losing strategy times and start with an amount too, since you will lose three out of INR 100. You can every four times play any game, any you play(think number of times why). Thus, you and in any order lose INR18 for you want. every INR 8 you So what is the best win, for an average profit can you net loss of INR make? What 2.50 per game. would be your However if Games strategy? A and B are played Well, the best in alternating strategy is to play sequence of one t h e g a m e s g a m e o f B alternatively followed by one (BABAB…). "...........Kabhi Kabhi Kuch g a m e o f A H e r e i s a n Jeetne Ke Liya Kuch Haar ( B A B A B … ) , explanationthen you will win Na Bhi Padta Hai....." Obviously in the long run, playing Game A because the first exclusively is a losing proposition, time you play Game B with a
remaining balance that is a multiple of 5, you will win INR 8, then play Game A and lose INR 3, and play Game B again with exactly INR 5 more, which guarantees you will continue to win Game B indefinitely, netting INR 5 each time (INR 8 – INR 3). Hence, playing Game A or Game B alone may seem to be an unwise choice. However if we play both of the individual losing games in a particular sequence (here BABA…)the resultant game would be a winning game since the loss in Game A paves way for an overall win in Game B. So here you win by playing two losing games! You will notice another article in this edition that talks about 'Winning by Losing' but the calculations involved are not mathematical. Can you identify it?
The Strategist 5
The KGPian Game Theory Society
W
e all know that the prisoner's dilemma is a classic situation of game theory with a theoretical outcome of 'non-cooperation'. In practice, however people are more decent and courteous than what economists predict, apparently, that makes these dilemma situations even more interesting. “GOLDEN BALLS”, a British daytime game show, is a classic example of such dilemma situations. One of the most interesting segments of game is “Split or Steal”. The setup is pretty simple; there is a pool of money and each of the two players chooses either to split it (amongst them) or to steal it. Proceedings of the game is such that, after a brief discussion for a minute or so both the players have to reveal their strategies independently and at the same time i.e. whether they choose to split or steal. The rules are as follows: 1)If both players choose split, then the whole money is evenly distributed among both. 2)If one of them chooses to split and the other chooses to steal then the one who has chosen steal gets the entire pool of money and the other goes empty hands. 3)If both chooses steal both of them go home empty handed. The big difference between the "PRISONER'S DILEMMA " and "GOLDEN BALLS" is that in
SPLIT OR STEAL
golden ball the participants are allowed to speak to each other i.e. the participants are given a fair chance to come out of the dilemma. In most of the episodes, the conversation ended up with a promise from both participants to split the money. But, in many a cases one of them reneging on the deal went on to cheat their opponents. While in s o m e instances, both players went for greed and got to share p u b l i c s h a m e instead of cash. Now, assume you are a player in such a situation. What would you do? Clearly, your goal will be to get other person to play split, because that's the only way you are going to get any money. So, your initial idea should be such as to convince your opponent that you are going to play steal to make him think he wasn't going to get anything either way but could come off appearing to be a cooperator by choosing to split. WHY WOULD THIS WORK??? Firstly, trying to convince your opponent that you are going to split should be a non-starter, for two reasons: 1) The steal strategy dominates (weakly) the split strategy because
Charitha Reddy
if you think the other player is going to split, it's clearly better to steal, and if the other player is going to steal, then stealing is just as good as splitting. This means that convincing the other person that you are going to "SPLIT" is an uphill battle since your opponent can see that splitting is not in your best interest.
contestant but not about you and you should never reveal or give assurance to others that I am going to pick steal or split. He may find you unpredictable and play optimistic by choosing split. 2)The main task of conversation is to make the other person trust you. Appeal to his sense of honesty.
2) Even if you convince the other player to split, all that does is to give the other player a greater incentive to steal.
3)Watch out for 'body language' and 'non-verbal cues'. But what's interesting is that the other person doesn't have to fully trust you for all this to work, so what happens is finally a surprise that shows the need for combining math with anthropology and psychology.
So the only reasonable options are to either not promise anything or to convince the other that you are going to "STEAL". It shouldn't be hard to convince the other person that you are going to steal, since stealing is in your "best interest". If he is convinced that you are going to steal, the other person should be indifferent between splitting and stealing, since he doesn't get any money either way, but splitting will make him seem the better and more cooperative person on national TV.
ANALYSIS OF GOLDEN BALLS GAME SHOW ON THE BASIS OF GENDER:If both the players are female, they are more cooperative. Here goes the statistics: ___________________________ S.NO TYPE OF TEAMS % of times they choose split ___________________________ 1. female-female 50 2. male- male 45 3. female -male 44 __________________________ ON THE BASIS OF AGE:People within the age range of 60 are more likely to be cooperative as compared to those between 19 30. We encourage you to find instances in daily life and business when you have to chose between 'split' and 'steal' and then apply this knowledge.
If you wish to follow a different strategy than to convince the other that you will "steal" you should keep following points in mind: 1) In the conversation session, all talk should be about the other
THE DILEMMAS OF KGP HALL POLITICS
“
A
ll these candidates are hopeless. This GSec is such a poltubaaz. The results are based on appeasement, not performance!” How many times have we heard our friends murmuring these words? And yet, every year, be it the Gymkhana or hall elections, the candidates are selected not on the basis of their caliber, but some “other criteria”. Pacts are made and accordingly candidates contest for the auspicious elections. Hundreds of bright minds gather in the basketball court to listen to the
SOPs. But when it comes to voting, it's the PACT and not SOPs that decide the results. Apparently, if given a choice, almost every KGPian would prefer a system where candidates are selected on basis of their merit. Now, if this is what we really want, what's keeping us from the desired change? The answer to this question is that every hall that seeks to contest for the GCs faces a multi player prisoner's dilemma! It's evident that the hall President plays a major role in determining his hall's actions. Presidents from all the halls face two choices: To encourage their Hall to vote for their pact OR to encourage a neutral merit based voting. Now suppose hall A of pact 1 decided to follow merit based voting. It is very likely that the votes from this hall will be distributed almost equally among the candidates of the two pacts. If other halls follow suit, this will lead to fair elections. But what if the majority of halls stick to the pact? Clearly Pact 1
will lose the elections and hall A will not find any support in subsequent elections. In fact “Voting for the pact” becomes the dominant strategy of Pact 2 in this case. This can be summarized in the following table that reduces this multi player game into a 2 player game by clubbing halls together under pact: Note: Payoff of voting for pact, when the other pact votes for merit is greater than, the situation in which both vote for merit. We notice that each pact has an
Voting for the pact is the dominant strategy for each hall even though voting for merit gives
VOTE FOR MERIT VOTE FOR MERIT
(2,2)
VOTE FOR PACT
(3,-1)
incentive to deviate from (MERIT, MERIT while there is no incentive to deviate from (PACT, PACT) which is the Nash Equilibrium. Clearly,
(Original idea)
VOTE FOR PACT (- 1,3) (1,1)
a better payoff in the long run. Perhaps, that's why fair elections at IIT Kharagpur are a latent dream.
The Strategist 6
The KGPian Game Theory Society
CAT OR GMAT If you enjoyed going through the articles in this edition it is likely that you are among those who wish to pursue your post graduation in the field of business then you are likely to give GMAT and/or cat. A common question that arises in the minds of MBA aspirants across the country is whether they should take the CAT and join the IIMs or G M AT ( c o n d u c t e d b y t h e Graduate Management Admission Council ) and pursue their dreams
abroad. Although both are designed to test the aptitude of aspirants, there are some slight differences in the format and the type of questions that one might face in the two exams. Here we present to you a detailed comparison. The skills required to do well in both the examinations are quite similar. If you have already prepared/appeared for CAT, a major portion of your CAT preparation is relevant for GMAT. Wi t h a b i t o f a d d i t i o n a l preparation in the few areas of divergence, you should be able to do well in GMAT also.
Differences between CAT & GMAT :
questions in GMAT are relatively easy.
·Writing skills are not tested in the CAT. The GMAT has an Analytical Writing Ability (AWA) section .
·Students typically struggle with data sufficiency in GMAT as this a new question type for most. Weight age for Data Sufficiency in GMAT is very high (almost 50% of the quant section), whereas CAT presented not more than 4 questions on Data Sufficiency in recent years.
·Critical Reasoning (CR)has not
been a significant area in the CAT in recent years. In the GMAT, about 30% of questions in the Verbal Ability section are of Critical Reasoning. ·Sentence Correction questions
that come in the GMAT are of slightly different flavor when compared to those in CAT. In GMAT, the emphasis is not only on the functional aspects of grammar rules but also on contextual meaning and usage. There are specific error types that are looked at in the GMAT and familiarity with those types will be very handy. ·Reading Comprehension passages in CAT and GMAT are quite similar. ·The quantitative section in GMAT has two question types: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. The problem solving
·GMAT is an adaptive test while CAT is just a linear computer based test. In an adaptive test like GMAT, you must answer every question that comes on the screen to get to the next question. Unlike in CAT, you will not be allowed to skip a question or to go back to an already submitted in GMAT. This makes time management in GMAT quite tricky and you need to have a test taking strategy that suits you.
In the coming editions we shall bring to you some strategies that can be applied to crack these prestigious exams. Till then, Good Luck!
TEAM STRATEGIST Mentor Manoj Gadia Executive Editors Deepant Sahil Editors Akshat Vaibhav Academic and Design Heads Anurag Ayush Harika Shipra Poorva Saurabh Vibhor Abhishek Content Rekha Dimple Pritha KumarKrishnaAgarwal Devashish Senchandra Subhamoy Harsh Sagar Naman Jain Sourya Charitha Shyla gangwar Ritesh Design Pradeep Rao Chandan Motivation
Team KGTS
QUESTIONNAIRE Game Theory has often been used in movies and TV series. For e.g take the case of the movie Dark Knight where the Joker puts the people of Gotham in a prisoner's dilemma by capturing them in two different ships that are loaded with explosives. He gives a detonator each to both the ships and tells them that unless one of them blows the other up, they will all die in a matter of time. He knew that despite cooperation being the better strategy for the two ships, the dominant strategy for each ship was to blow up the other. Fortunately before the people of
Gotham could fall for this trap, Batman decided to save the day! Find similar instances of the application of game theory in some other movies/ TV serials or in your daily life and submit your write up to The.kgts@gmail.com. The best answers will be rewarded and printed in the next edition of The Strategist. So open your minds and pick up your pens!