Hyper-Rational Gaming

A vast and growing literature in game theory shows that a wide variety of human conflicts and competitions can be modeled as games. Most of this work is done through deductive logic, mathematical modeling, and computer simulation. It relies on the assumption that humans are self-interested rational maximizers. This study examines a group of actors who are given extraordinary incentives and resources to apply their rationality to a competitive game. The subjects were fifty-four bond traders at four of the ten largest investment banks on Wall Street. The author explores hyper-rational gaming among bond traders to identify descriptive limitations and cultural extensions of the game theoretic model.