Quote Originally Posted by ddade View Post
Thanks for the reply MikeF.

Sure, I'm aware that the model is highly idealized, but the literature often cites the things you mentioned, like perfect knowledge and homo economicus. But I've never read anything that explicitly said that mixed strategies are not useful for figuring out what course of action one should take. I am wondering out loud why not. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that it's me that just doesn't understand something important point, but I don't see it and I'd like someone to point it out to me.

As for brinksmanship, I am currently enjoying Thomas C. Schelling's Arms and Influence. It's qualitative and not rigorous, but man, does it make intuitive sense. The idea that an opponent can threaten to obligate you to do something that you would rather not, is fascinating.

First Strike games and Evolutionary Stable Systems, I've never heard of. Can you please make a recommendation for each?

Thanks for the direction.
I can't go too far in-depth b/c I would betray some of my own original work. I dissolved all the assumptions and redid the math.

First Strike- I'm on vacation so I'll give an analogy. Next week, I'll provide some text. Remember the game "Cross-pool" that we'd play during the summer at the pool- one person that was it in the deep end trying to tag others as they dove and swam from one side to the other? Statistically, the first person to go is never tagged out.

ESS- This will probably bore you to death, but this book fascinates me.

Evolution and the Theory of Games- John Maynard Smith.