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Seminar Series 2003-2004
Abstracts
Nash Equilibria and Complexity
Professor Christos Papadimitriou
Date: Monday, Sept. 15
Time: 2:50pm - 4:00pm (Please note unusual day and time.)
Place: Halligan 111, Department of Computer Science
Abstract: Using the Nash equilibrium problem as a departure point, we explore
the intricate and largely mysterious interplay between existence
proofs in combinatorics and computational complexity. We present
polynomial-time algorithms and complexity results for the special
case of congestion games. (joint work with Alex Fabrikant).
Games and Networks
Professor Christos Papadimitriou
Date: Monday, Sept. 15
Time: 11:50am - 1:05pm
Place: Braker 01, Department of Economics
Abstract: The Internet is the first computational artifact that
was not designed by a single entity, but emerged from the complex
interaction of many. Hence, it must be approached as a mysterious
object, akin to the universe and the cell, to be understood by
observation and falsifiable theories. Game theory plays an important
role in this endeavor, since the entities involved in the Internet
are optimizing interacting agents in various and varying degrees of
collaboration and competition. We survey work in progress
considering the Internet and its protocols as equilibria in
appropriate games, and striving to explain phenomena such as the
power law distributions of the degrees of the Internet topology in
terms of the complex optimization problems faced by each node.
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