15/02/2016 - 14/06/2016
Library, 2nd Floor, Wui Chi Building, MPI
Avoid being killed from Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes planned to escape from London. He discovered that Moriarty was in the railway station as he did. Both Moriarty and Sherlock had two options: getting off at Canterbury, or continuing to Paris. If both of them get off at the same station, then it would mean severe consequences on Sherlock Holmes; otherwise, Sherlock Holmes would escape and get a chance to fight back. Both Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty knew very well each other’s strategies and what results would lead for each option. Sherlock Holmes made a meaningful remark after getting off at Canterbury, This comment showed that he was very well acknowledged of the potential actions that would be taken by Moriarty and what consequences would these actions lead to, and he fully appreciated the fact that Moriarty knew his options as well. Finally, the payoffs Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty receive completely depended on each other’s choice, that is, if they would get off at the same or different station, and we should be able to assume that both of them value their lives and would prefer to destroy the other’s life and receive larger payoffs.
Mathematician John von Neumann & Oskar Morgenstern studied the situation of this case by applying the Game Theory. Are you interested in the result of their study? Find the answer from the Library Book Exhibition…