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Alan Lenton: Holiday reading

Posted by: Alan Lenton on 29 December 2007
[29-12-2007] Holidaying in Vienna, with no laptop, the only thing to do was to read (and eat Viennese pastries - Yum!)
Here's an interesting book I read over Xmas this year:

Prisoner's Dilemma by William Poundstone. Published by Anchor Books

This book is an absorbing look at what is known as Game Theory, and the life of its founder, John von Neumann. It's not a technical book, as such, though any techie would enjoy reading it. It is not just about what game theory is, but also about its limits and its criticisms, and above all how politicians and the military tried to apply it in cold war. I've not come across anything like this before, and for the first time I got a real glimpse of how people thought in the forties and fifties.

Recommended.