This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to multi-agent, multi-choice repetitive games, such as the Kolkata Restaurant Problem and the Minority Game. It explains how the tangible formulations of these games, using stochastic strategies developed by statistical physicists employing both classical and quantum physics, have led to very efficient solutions to the problems posed. Further, it includes sufficient introductory notes on information-processing strategies employing both classical statistical physics and quantum mechanics. Games of this nature, in which agents are presented with choices, from among which their goal is to make the minority choice, offer effective means of modeling herd behavior and market dynamics and are highly relevant to assessing systemic risk. Accordingly, this book will be of interest to economists, physicists, and computer scientists alike.

From the preface by Joel E. Cohen: "A century from now humanity will live in a managed - or mismanaged - global garden. We are debating the need to preserve tropical forests. Farming of the sea is providing an increasing part of our fish supply. We are beginning to control atmospheric emissions. In 100 years, we shall use novel farming practices and genetic engineering of bacteria to manipulate the methane production of rice fields. The continental shelf will be providing food, energy, possibly even living space. To make such intensive management possible will require massive improvements in data collection and analysis, and especially in our concepts. A century hence we will live on a wired earth: the oceans and the crust of the earth will receive the same comprehensive monitoring now devoted to weather. As the peoples of currently developing countries increase their levels of wealth, the need for global management will become irresistible as impatience with the accidents of nature and intolerance of mismanagement of the environment - especially of living resources - grow. Our control of physical perturbations and chemical inputs to the environment will be judged by the consequences to living organisms and biological communities. How can we obtain the factual and theoretical foundation needed to move from our present, fragmented knowledge and limited abilities to a managed, global garden?" This problem was addressed in the lectures and workshops of a summer school on patch dynamics at Cornell University. The school emphasized the analysis and interpretation of spatial patterns in terrestrial and marine environments. This book contains the course material of this school, combining general reviews with specific applications.

The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis (AMH) presents a formal and systematic exposition of a new narrative about financial markets that reconciles rational investor behaviour with periods of temporary financial insanity. In this narrative, intelligent but fallible investors learn from and adapt to randomly shifting environments. Financial markets may not always be efficient, but they are highly competitive, innovative, and adaptive, varying in their degree of efficiency as investor populations and the financial landscape change over time. Andrew Lo and Ruixun Zhang develop the mathematical foundations of the AMH—a simple yet surprisingly powerful set of evolutionary models of behaviour—and then apply these foundations to show how the most fundamental economic behaviours that we take for granted can arise solely through natural selection. Drawing on recent advances in cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence, the book also explores how our brain affects economic and financial decision making. The AMH can be applied in many contexts, ranging from designing trading strategies, to managing risk and understanding financial crises, to formulating macroprudential policies to promote financial stability. This volume is a must read for anyone who has ever been puzzled and concerned by the behaviour of financial markets and the implications for their personal wealth, and seeks to learn how best to respond to such behaviour.

The 2009 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Computational Int- ligence (AICI 2009) was held during November 7–8, 2009 in Shanghai, China. The technical program of the conference reflects the tremendous growth in the fields of artificial intelligence and computational intelligence with contributions from a large number of participants around the world. AICI 2009 received 1,203 submissions from 20 countries and regions. After rig- ous reviews, 79 high-quality papers were selected for this volume, representing an acceptance rate of 6.6%. These selected papers cover many new developments and their applications in the fields of artificial intelligence and computational intelligence. Their publications reflect a sustainable interest from the wide academic community worldwide in tirelessly pursuing new solutions through effective utilizations of arti- cial intelligence and computational intelligence to real-world problems. We would like to specially thank all the committee members and reviewers, without whose timely help it would have been impossible to review all the submitted papers to assemble this program. We also would like take this opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation for all those who worked together in organizing this conference, establi- ing the technical programs and running the conference meetings. We greatly appreciate the authors, speakers, invited session organizers, session Chairs, and others who made this conference possible. Lastly, we would like to express our gratitude to the Shanghai University of Electric Power for the sponsorship and support of the conference.

The book provides a thorough analysis of the theoretical properties of evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS's) in four models of evolutionary biology that are all based on individual selection principles. These models range from the standard frequency-dependent evolutionary game theory model of a single species to more recent models that include density-dependent and/or two-species frequency-dependent interactions. The book is unique in that it emphasizes both static and dynamic aspects of the ESS conditions. Of particular interest to game theorists will be the correspondence between dynamic stability in the biological system and either the Nash equilibrium of non-cooperative game theory or the core solution concept of cooperative game theory. The book is the first to consider, in detail, the game-theoretic effects of contestant information and two-species interactions. Of major significance to evolutionary biologists are the dynamic consequences, on the evolutionary process, of territorial ownership or repeated interactions between the same individuals. The book is intended as a text/reference for students/re- searchers in either discipline(evolutionary biology or game theory) who have a minimum mathematical maturity of a senior undergraduate.

The beliefs of economists are not solely determined by empirical evidence in direct relation to the theories and models they hold. Economists hold 'ontological presuppositions', fundamental ideas about the nature of being which direct their thinking about economic behaviour. In this volume, leading philosophers and economists examine these hidden presuppositions, searching for a 'world view' of economics. What properties are attributed to human individuals in economic theories, and which are excluded? Does economic man exist? Do markets have an essence? Do macroeconomic aggregates exist? Is the economy a mechanism, the functioning of which is governed by a limited set of distinct causes? What are the methodological implications of different ontological starting points? This collection, which establishes economic ontology as a coordinated field of study, will be of great value to economists and philosophers of social sciences. -- Back cover.