Daenerys’s Dragons: A Solution to the Principal-Agent Problem

Season 6, Episode 6: In this clip, Daenerys flies in on her dragon and asks her soldiers to be her loyal “blood riders.” This is similar to how nations in the past have overcome the ‘principal-agent problem.’ The principal-agent problem asserts that there is some conflict in priorities between the ‘principal’ and the ‘agent,’ who …

Lord Frey has Bargaining Advantage in Game of Thrones

Season 1, Episode 9: The Starks want to safely cross water but need Lord Frey’s position. They are in a bad position and he is reluctant and in a good position. In bargaining, we’d say that the Stark’s Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) was low while Lord Frey’s was high. As bargaining theory …

Game Theory in House of the Dragon: A Mixed Strategy for the Prince’s Life

The assassins (Blood and Cheese) break in and want to kill Prince Jaehaerys. They don’t know which sleeping child is the prince, however. Their mother (the Queen Helaena) is asked to reveal which one is the prince. The Queen doesn’t want the heir to the throne to be killed and the assassins want to kill …

Cersei’s Realization: The Principal-Agent Problem in Imperial Governance

Season 1, Episode 3: In this clip, Cersei tells her son “The North cannot be held…not by an outsider. It’s too big and too wild.” This can help us understand the principal-agent problem. The principal-agent problem states there is a conflict in priorities between the principal – normally an emperor or some type of ruler …

Voting for Knight’s Watch Commander

Season 5, Episode 2: A vote between three people to be commander of the Night’s Watch is occurring. When there are three or more choices, Kenneth Arrow showed in his impossibility theorem that all three of these cannot occur: * If every voter prefers alternative X over alternative Y, then the group prefers X over …