Natural Science 0107 - Games, Systems and Sustainability

Games play a long and unique role in human culture. While we often do not think of them this way, they are a form of mathematical modeling, and they can be used to learn a variety of practical mathematical concepts. This course will use complex tabletop games to explore concepts from several fields of mathematics, nearly all of which are pertinent to the study and management of complex systems. We will play games. We will identify and analyze key concepts and structures within those games. We will use that analysis to improve our game playing. Then we will turn that same analytical lens onto the real world. Throughout the course, we will see that the dynamics and concepts that appear in our games (e.g. exponential growth) also appear with surprising regularity in systems we care about and that are important to the sustainability of the human enterprise. Keywords:games, applied math, systems, sustainability

Environments and Change Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time