The Mythology of Game Theory

Non-cooperative game theory is at its heart a theory of cognition, specifically a theory of how decisions are made. Game theory\u27s leverage is that we can design different payoffs, settings, player arrays, action possibilities, and information structures, and that these differences lead to different strategies, outcomes, and equilibria. It is well-known that, in experimental settings, people do not adopt the predicted strategies, outcomes, and equilibria. The standard response to this mismatch of prediction and observation is to add various psychological axioms to the game-theoretic framework. Regardless of the differing specific proposals and results, game theory uniformly makes certain cognitive assumptions that seem rarely to be acknowledged, much less interrogated. Indeed, it is not widely understood that game theory is essentially a cognitive theory. Here, we interrogate those cognitive assumptions. We do more than reject specific predictions from specific games. More broadly, we reject the underlying cognitive model implicitly assumed by game theory

Status of cis and trans Fatty Acids in Brazilian Adolescent Mothers and Their Newborns

Study Objective:The objective was to quantifycisandtransfatty acids in maternal plasma and infant cord plasma from adolescent mothers. Design:From 80 adolescent healthy mothers, we sampled postpartum maternal blood and umbilical cord blood at birth.Transfatty acids (tFAs), linoleic (18:2), and arachidonic (AA, 20:4) acids of the n-6 family, anda-linolenic (18:3), eicosapentaenoic (20:5) and docosa-hexaenoic (22:6) acids of the n-3 family were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. Results were expressed as a percentage of total fatty acids. Results:Linoleic fatty acid was present in greater proportions in the maternal plasma than in that of the umbilical cord, whereas AA was present in greater proportions in the total lipids of umbilical cord blood. Docosahexaenoic acid was the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid of the n-3 family that was predominant in both maternal and umbilical cord plasma. ThetFAs in the maternal plasma had a negative correlation with oleic acid and linoleic acid. Linolenic acid had a positive correlation with cephalic perimeter upon birth. A tendency for a negative correlation betweentransisomers and gestational age at birth (P5.05) was observed. Conclusions:Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are important to fetal growth and development, were found in greater quantities in the cord blood of newborns of adolescents than in the maternal blood, indicating a priority of transfer of AA and docosa-hexaenoic fatty acids to the fetus. Despite the lower levels oftFAs found in maternal blood, we verified potential risk for premature birth