Courses for Summer, 2006
PPE 003 W 6:00pm-8:00pm, S 11:00am-1:00pm Sen
Mathematical Preparation for the Social Sciences
Special Session: May 31-August 2, 2006; CGS students only
The course will provide a thorough training and preparation in the mathematical methods most commonly used in the social sciences. It is designed specifically for those CGS students who know they will be majoring in the social sciences, and whose lack of proficiency or ‘rustiness’ in mathematics is often an obstacle to pursuing higher studies or taking mathematical courses in Economics, Political Science, Finance and related subjects. The class will cover algebra, calculus, probability, optimization, and game theory, and will be very application intensive, with lots of examples and homework drawn exclusively from the social sciences. The class will fulfill the Rigorous Reasoning requirement for the PPE major, and can also be counted as an economics elective credit within the PPE major conditional on a grade of C+ or better.
PPE -110 INTRO TO DECISION THEORY SEN S
MTWR 2:40-4:45PM TBA
DATES: 06/26/06 - 08/04/06
Fulfills General Requirement in Formal Reasoning & Analysis
The course will provide an introduction to models of human decision making. One of the primary purposes of the course is to provide a set of basic tools that will help the student translate uncertainty into numbers. Rational choice under uncertainty is by far the most used theory of decision making, and its applications are widespread in economics, finance, political science, law, managerial decision making, the economics of health care, and artificial intelligence. The course will use examples from each of these fields (and also fun “paradoxes” such as the Monty Hall Puzzle) in providing an introduction to the basic foundations of decision making. We will also look at the shortcomings of the rational choice theory: both from intuitive and empirical perspectives. The course may also be used for any Economics, Philosophy or Political Science requirement in the PPE major. No mathematical prerequisites are necessary beyond high school algebra and arithmetic.