Unbeatable strategy

In game theory, an unbeatable strategy is defined by W.D. Hamilton in his 1967 paper on sex ratios in Science.

The concept can be traced through Ronald Fisher (1930) to Darwin (1859); see Edwards (1998)

George R. Price generalised the verbal argument, which was then formalised by mathematically by John Maynard Smith, into the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS). An unbeatable strategy is always an ESS, though an ESS is not necesarily unbeatable, as it can be beaten by large migrations into the population.

References

• Darwin, C.R. (1859) The Origin of Species. John Murray, London.
• Edwards, A.W.F. (1998) ?
• Fisher, R.A. The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection
• Hamilton, W.D. (1967) Extraordinary sex ratios Science...
• Hamilton, W.D. (199?) Narrow Roads of Gene Land vol 1.
• Maynard Smith, J. and G.R. Price (1973) The nature of animal conflict Nature...

External links

• http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~kojima/unbeatable02.pdf
• http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Publications/Documents/IR-02-019.pdf