A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature.A BEAUTIFUL MATH: John Nash, Game Theory, and the Modern Quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the a Code of Nature TOM SIEGFRIED In the 1950s, John Nash, a brilliant but mentally ill mathematician, published research on game theory and its real-life applications. Though his ideas caught on slowly, game theory is now an essential tool in fields as varied as economics, anthropology anthropology, classification and analysis of humans and their society, descriptively, culturally, historically, and physically. Its unique contribution to studying the bonds of human social relations has been the distinctive concept of culture. , and neuroscience neu·ro·sci·ence n. Any of the sciences, such as neuroanatomy and neurobiology, that deal with the nervous system. neuroscience the embryology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology of the nervous system. . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Iongtime science writer Siegfried, game theory may hold the key to unifying the life sciences and physical sciences. He details game theory's various applications, beginning with economic theory. The author reviews how game theory can describe behaviors such as altruism altruism (ăl`tr  ĭz`əm), concept in philosophy and psychology that holds that the interests of others, rather than of the self, can motivate an individual. and cooperation, how games often have different outcomes depending upon the culture in which they are played, and how game theory can describe networks--from the U.S. power grid to the "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" parlor game. Overall, Siegfried reveals the remarkable flexibility of game theory. Joseph Henry Press, 2006, 264 p., hardcover, $27.95.
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