Behind the Poem: Game Theory

[Joseph J. Breunig 3rd]

Now that people are becoming more aware of my poetic efforts, interests are being expressed regarding the background of my poetry - in addition, to my spiritual muse. Back in the Spring of 1980, I graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a B.A. in Mathematics. I chose this discipline because it was my favorite subject in school. This poem is the first and only piece (to date), where I apply this learned knowledge.

Back in February of 2007, I found a poetry contest - its challenge was to compose a poem using mathematical terminology. And of course, it still had to make sense. After mulling over the idea for a short while, I recalled the topic of "Game Theory". Game Theory is a branch of applied math - its application is focused on the Social Sciences, most notably economics, as well as: Computer Science, Political Science, Biology, Engineering and International Relations. The primary purpose behind Game Theory is to capture behavior in strategic situations, whereby an individual's success is determined by choices that depend on the choices of others. Game Theory was initially developed to analyze competitions, in which one person does better at the expense of another. This concept is also known as a "Zero Sum Game". Most traditional applications attempt to find equilibria within this ideal. In an equilibrium, each player looks to adopt a stable strategy to gain positive results.

Growing up under the influence of the Church, I learned how Mankind lost his authority over the Earth. Satan, having been thrown out of heaven with a third of the angels, now pitted himself against God. He believes that he can defeat God by killing and dominating His creation of Man. So from a spiritual perspective, we must learn to make choices and live with the eventual outcome. God's desire is for all of us to live successful Christian lives - for we are "blessed to be a blessing to others"; therefore, we must be able to recognize and overcome the pitfalls of our earthly journey - by applying Jehovah's spiritual principles to everyday living. One of our greatest gifts is the ability to choose - so chose wisely, for there will always be some consequence that's not always readily evident.