Doctor Strangelove's Game By John Von Neumann

For years my main intellectual interest has been focused around the subject of economics. I first became actively immersed in the “dismal science" after reading a chapter from the book, Doctor Strangelove’s Game, which focuses on the history of economics. The chapter concerned famed mathematician and inventor of game theory, John Von Neumann. According to the book, during the Cold War, Von Neumann would advise President Eisenhower on whether or not to use the atomic bomb on the USSR (much like the famed Dr. Strangelove did in the eponymous Kubrick film). Von Neumann concluded that based on game theory, the only strategic move for Eisenhower to make would be to drop the bomb on Russia, before they could do the same to us. In fact, his argument was filled with such cogency, that he nearly convinced Secretary of State John Dulles that the right move was to bomb the Soviets. Although, I strongly disagree with Von Neumann’s position on Mutually Assured Destruction, I was enthralled by the idea of game theory, it’s far reaching applications, and economics as a whole. Since reading that, my interest in economics

There is so much we don’t know, and my curiosity has driven me to learn more. This is why I feel that Cornell offers the best experience for someone interested in majoring in economics, due to the skill and vast knowledge of the professors teaching the subject. Two professors that stand out in particular to me are Francine Blau and Kaushik Basu. Blau, a prize winning economist for her studies on labor inequality, and Basu who was the chief economist for the World Bank, which maintains the chief goal of abolishing world poverty, epitomize the type of intellectual I aspire to be. To see two famed economists working at Cornell, looking to better the world inspires me, and I would be honored to be given the ability to learn under them at the university, so that I could grow in my intellectual and academic