Predictioneer: one who uses maths, science and the logic of brazen self-interest to see and shape the future - Hardcover

Mesquita, Bruce Bueno De

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9781847920669: Predictioneer: one who uses maths, science and the logic of brazen self-interest to see and shape the future

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847920667 ISBN 13: 9781847920669

Publisher: Bodley Head, 2009

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* Bruce Bueno de Mesquita can predict the future. He is a master of game theory, a rather fancy name for a simple idea: when people compete with each other they always do what they think is in their own best interest. Bueno de Mesquita uses game theory to foretell - and even engineer - political, financial and personal events. In fact, Bueno de Mesquita's forecasts, for everyone from the CIA to major companies, have an astonishing ninety per cent success rate. In this startling and revelatory book he describes his methods and allows us to play along.

* Bueno de Mesquita explores the origins of game theory as formulated by John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winner who became the subject of the film A Beautiful Mind. He has developed Nash's ideas to create a rigorous and pragmatic system of calculation that enables us to think strategically about what our opponents want, how much they want it, and how they might react to our every move.

* Bueno de Mesquita applies his methods to many of the most pressing issues of our day. He advises how best to contain the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea. He shows how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might be resolved. He explains how corporate fraud can be anticipated and prevented. He addresses climate change and international terrorism: their likely evolution and our most effective response.

* But, as Bueno de Mesquita makes clear, game theory isn't just for saving the world. It can also help in your own life - to succeed in a legal dispute, to advance your career or that of a colleague, and even to buy a car at the lowest possible price.

* Shrewd, provocative and original, Predictioneer will change your understanding of the world - both now and in the future. If life's a game, then Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is the one essential member of your team.

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Review:

"Fruitful reading that will make it difficult to look at the world through quite the same eyes as in one's virginal, pre-game theory days" (Kirkus Reviews)

"Organized thought applied to problems can illuminate and help solve them. This easy and enjoyable read is, in many ways, a how-to book for that very purpose" (George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State)

"Bruce Bueno de Mesquita has demonstrated the power of using game theory and related assumptions of rational and self-seeking behavior in predicting the outcome of important political and legal processes. No one will fail to appreciate and learn from this well-written and always interesting account of his procedures" (Kenneth Arrow, Nobel Prize-winning economist; Professor Emeritus, Stanford University)

"Predictioneer teaches us that we can predict how a conflict may be resolved if we carefully consider the incentives for all parties in the conflict. In an extraordinary range of applications, from ancient history to tomorrow's headlines, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita demonstrates the power of the game-theoretic approach" (Roger B. Myerson, Nobel Prize-winning economist; Professor, University of Chicago)

"A fascinating new book" (Daniel Finkelstein Times)

Book Description:

A dazzling, provocative and utterly engrossing account of how one man is able to predict the future.

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