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Game Theory and Poe's Detective Stories and Life

Author

Listed:
  • Regis Deloche

    (Universite de Franche-Comte)

  • Fabienne Oguer

    (Universite de Franche-Comte)

Abstract

Both Poe and Dupin, the detective character created by Poe, think like game theorists. The goal of this paper is to prove this conjecture. First, we show that each one of the three Dupin stories is filled with ratiocination that can be modeled according to game theory. Second, we briefly elaborate on the bargaining game that is lurking beneath the Poe’s whole trilogy. Third, we show that two very important decisions of Poe - as a young man, he left his foster father’s home; as a forty-year-old man, he took and published a temperance oath - are consistent with game-theoretic behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Regis Deloche & Fabienne Oguer, 2006. "Game Theory and Poe's Detective Stories and Life," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 97-110, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:32:y:2006:i:1:p:97-110
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    File URL: http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/Volume32/V32N1P97_110.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roth,Alvin E. & Sotomayor,Marilda A. Oliveira, 1992. "Two-Sided Matching," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521437882, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Read, 2020. "The five games of Mr Edgar Allan Poe: A study of strategic thought in ‘The Purloined Letter’," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(4), pages 369-401, November.
    2. Pierre Courtois & Tarik Tazdaït, 2021. "Jacques Lacan and game theory: an early contribution to common knowledge reasoning," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5), pages 844-869, September.

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