In addition to the general idea of Game Theory, I can also tell you right now what a Nash Equilibrium is, how to determine evolutionary stability, and the method for calculating the best mixed strategy response. Pretty cool, huh?
The trouble is, if you ask me about those things in 6 months, will I even have a clue what you are talking about? Maybe. More importantly, will I have made use of any of those concepts in my life? Probably not.
So why am I learning them now? For Game Theory to be relevant to life, I would need to do it a lot...far more than 20 hours of lecture, even if I was doing the homework. The same could be said of most of my college courses and most books I have read. The long-term impact of most seems to be small, at least counted in what facts I know and what skills I posess.
So why bother? Why learn at all? I can think of a few reasons, but the topic seems worthy of more thought and discussion than a simple blog post. Here is where I start:
- I like learning. New information is fun for me.
- Learning exercises my brain. When I run regularly, walking up stairs is easier. When I learn regularly, the thinking that I get paid for (i.e. work) is easier.
- Some learning is better than none. By flooding myself with 20 hours of Game Theory, I may retain 15 minutes. Getting those 15 minutes may be worth the 20 hours.
- Learning is a saturation process. Those 15 minutes cannot be obtained in less than 20 hours (or some such ratio). Learning requires a lot of input for a little to stick around.
2 comments:
And those 20 hours/15 minutes are taken from time that would otherwise be lost, so having fun may be reason enough. I mean, it's not like you can do other hobbies (bungee jumping, hiking, etc.) while driving. You might as well be learning something.
@Lisa - True enough. Bungee jumping while driving has been shown to be even more dangerous than texting.
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