Laws of the Game: How the Principles of Nature Govern Chance

Eigen, Manfred & Ruthild Winkler translated by Robert & Rita Kimber

ISBN 10: 0691025665 / ISBN 13: 9780691025667

Published by Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993

About this Item

The proposal that the elements of chance underlie all that happens is not, in my opinion, a new or original observation. What is ingenuous is the detailed explanation and illustration of how this occurs; 347 pages, illustrated. Fine paperback book in decorative wrappers (soft cover book)/ no dust jacket.

Seller Inventory # 2020164

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Laws of the Game: How the Principles of Nature Govern Chance
• Publisher: Princeton: Princeton University Press
• Publication Date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691025665
• ISBN 13: 9780691025667
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 2nd printing.

About this title

Synopsis

Using game theory and examples of actual games people play, Nobel laureate Manfred Eigen and Ruthild Winkler show how the elements of chance and rules underlie all that happens in the universe, from genetic behavior through economic growth to the composition of music.


To illustrate their argument, the authors turn to classic games--backgammon, bridge, and chess--and relate them to physical, biological, and social applications of probability theory and number theory. Further, they have invented, and present here, more than a dozen playable games derived from scientific models for equilibrium, selection, growth, and even the composition of RNA.

About the Author

Manfred Eigen and Ruthild Winkler are scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. In 1967 Eigen received the Nobel Prize for chemistry.