ORC Course Description: The course introduces basic concepts in evolutionary game theory, including evolutionarily stable strategies, replicator dynamics, finite populations, and games on networks, along with applications to social evolution, particularly to understanding human cooperation.
ORC Prerequisites for MATH 30:04: Math 20. The student should be familiar with calculus, and basic concepts in probability and ordinary differential equations. Programing skills helpful, but not required.
Suggested Textbooks:
Nowak, M. A. (2006). Evolutionary dynamics. Harvard University Press.
Sigmund, K. (2010). The calculus of selfishness. Princeton University Press.
Waitlist/IP request:
Please kindly note that the College has certain rules for handling oversubscription due to limitations of classroom facilities. We will work hard to make sure everyone's waitlist/IP request can be addressed satisfactorily. There are currently three sections scheduled at 10A, 11, and 3A, respectively. Please choose the section that fits best for your schedule. Thank you for your understanding and support.
MATH 30.04: In case that the chosen section is full, please feel mostly welcome to request to be added into our waitlist for MATH 30.04 and specify which section you would like to be considered for. clicking here to send an email along with your DartID
QSS 30.04: In case that the chosen section is full, please feel mostly welcome to request to be added into our waitlist for QSS 30.04 and specify which section you would like to be considered for. clicking here to send an email along with your DartID
Grading Formula:
The top priority of this course is your health and well-being. The class will ensure everyone be free of pressure and anxiety.
Four homework problem sets (40%) + Final projects (40%) on topics of your choice + Participation in Poster session (10%) + Lightening talk based on this project (10%).
The final project requires a significant component of using quantitative methods (including not limited to game theory models, statistical analyses, or simulations) as well as a final report (~12 pages, single-spaced with font size 12 point) written in the format of a scientific paper (which consists of title, authors, abstract, introduction, model and methods, results, discussions and conclusion along with references).
Integration of ChatGPT: Our class welcomes the wise and responsible use of ChatGPT, or Large Language Models (LLMs) more generally, as an integral part of our experiential learning. We embrace ChatGPT in our learning and educational environments while striving to minimize any potential stigma associated with its use by using it in responsible and constructive ways. It is important to note that there is absolutely no penalty for utilizing ChatGPT, but the class respectfully requires you to disclose explicitly by including the prompt history as part of your submission.
Section I: MATH/QSS 30.04 01
Teaching Time: 10A: TuTh 10:10-12, X-HR: F 3:30-4:20
Office Hours: By appointment.
Office: Kemeny 210
Email: Feng.Fu@dartmouth.edu
Section II: MATH/QSS 30.04 02
Teaching Time: 11: MWF 11:30-12:35, X-HR: Tu 12:15-1:05
Office Hours: Mon 2-3pm and Wed 2-3pm
Office: Kemeny 211
Email: Olivia.J.Chu@dartmouth.edu
Section III: MATH/QSS 30.04 03
Teaching Time: 3A: MW 3:30-5:20, XHR: M 5:30-6:20
Office Hours: Mon 2:30-3:20pm, Wed 2:30-3:20pm, and Thu 2:30-4:30pm
Office: Kemeny 244
Tentative lecture plan which may be subject to further changes.
| Week | Lecture | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| Lec 1 | Evolutionary Games: Introduction & Overview | Nowak, M. A., & Sigmund, K. (2004). Evolutionary dynamics of biological games. Science, 303(5659), 793-799. |
| Lec 2 | Stability Concepts: Nash Equilibrium vs. Evolutionarily Stable Strategy | Smith, J. M., & Price, G. R. (1973). The logic of animal conflict. Nature, 246(5427), 15-18. |
| Lec 3 | Replicator Equations and Its Connection with Ecological Dynamics | Bomze, I. M. (1983). Lotka-Volterra equation and replicator dynamics: a two-dimensional classification. Biological cybernetics, 48(3), 201-211. |
| Lec 4 | Social Dilemmas of Cooperation | Kollock, P. (1998). Social dilemmas: The anatomy of cooperation. Annual Review of Sociology, 183-214. |
| Lec 5 | Rules for Cooperation | Nowak, M. A. (2006). Five rules for the evolution of cooperation. Science, 314(5805), 1560-1563. |
| Lec 6 | Repeated Games | Binmore, K. G., & Samuelson, L. (1992). Evolutionary stability in repeated games played by finite automata. Journal of Economic Theory, 57(2), 278-305. Press, W. H., & Dyson, F. J. (2012). Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma contains strategies that dominate any evolutionary opponent. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(26), 10409-10413. |
| Lec 7 | Beyond Pairwise Interactions: Multi-Person Games | Hardin, G., (1998) Extensions of "the tragedy of the commons". Science, 280(5364): 682-683. |
| Lec 8 | Spatial Games | Nowak, M. A., & May, R. M. (1992). Evolutionary games and spatial chaos. Nature, 359(6398), 826-829. |
| Lec 9 | Adaptive Dynamics | Dieckmann, U., & Law, R. (1996). The dynamical theory of coevolution: a derivation from stochastic ecological processes. Journal of Mathematical Biology, 34(5-6), 579-612. |
| Lec 10 | Evolutionary Branching | Hofbauer, J., & Sigmund, K. (2003). Evolutionary game dynamics. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 40(4), 479-519. Doebeli, M., Hauert, C., & Killingback, T. (2004). The evolutionary origin of cooperators and defectors. Science, 306(5697), 859-862. |
| Lec 11 | Finite Populations I | Nowak, M. A., Sasaki, A., Taylor, C., & Fudenberg, D. (2004). Emergence of cooperation and evolutionary stability in finite populations. Nature, 428(6983), 646-650. Traulsen, A., Claussen, J. C., & Hauert, C. (2005). Coevolutionary dynamics: from finite to infinite populations. Physical Review Letters, 95(23), 238701. |
Lec 12 | Finite Population II | Fudenberg, D., Nowak, M. A., Taylor, C., & Imhof, L. A. (2006). Evolutionary game dynamics in finite populations with strong selection and weak mutation. Theoretical population biology, 70(3), 352-363. | Lec 13 | Evolutionary Graph Theory | Lieberman, E., Hauert, C., & Nowak, M. A. (2005). Evolutionary dynamics on graphs. Nature, 433(7023), 312-316. Ohtsuki, H., Hauert, C., Lieberman, E., & Nowak, M. A. (2006). A simple rule for the evolution of cooperation on graphs and social networks. Nature, 441(7092), 502-505. Perc, M., & Szolnoki, A. (2010). Coevolutionary games--a mini review. BioSystems, 99(2), 109-125. |
| Lec 14 | Vaccination Dilemma | Bauch, C. T., & Earn, D. J. (2004). Vaccination and the theory of games. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(36), 13391-13394. |
| Lec 15 | Evolutionary Dynamics of In-group Favoritism | Masuda, N., & Fu, F. (2015). Evolutionary models of in-group favoritism. F1000Prime Reports, 7, 27. |
| Lec 16 | Evolution of Homophily | Fu, F., Nowak, M.A., Christakis, N.A., & Fowler, J.H.(2012) The evolution of homophily. Scientific reports, 2: 845. |
| Week 9 | Final Project Presentations | TBD |
Approximately 5 weeks are given to complete the final project. The instructor will suggest project ideas in the third week, but you are allowed to propose your own, which has to be approved by the instructor in the fourth week at the latest. Project presentation is limited to 10 minutes and preferably in the style of TED talks.
Course projects are listed in the alphabetical order of student names, and will be updated once more progresses are made by the students.
(1) Consent to recording of course meetings and office hours that are open to multiple students.
By enrolling in this course,(2) Requirement of consent to one-on-one recordings
By enrolling in this course, I hereby affirm that I will not make a recording in any medium of any one-on-one meeting with the instructor or another member of the class or group of members of the class without obtaining the prior written consent of all those participating, and I understand that if I violate this prohibition, I will be subject to discipline by Dartmouth up to and including separation from Dartmouth, as well as any other civil or criminal penalties under applicable law. I understand that an exception to this consent applies to accommodations approved by SAS for a student’s disability, and that one or more students in a class may record class lectures, discussions, lab sessions, and review sessions and take pictures of essential information, and/or be provided class notes for personal study use only.