20160708 Group 2

Friday, July 08, 2016

The morning started with an inspiring Mathematical Explorations lecture by Mr Zhengyuan Zhou. Firstly, we learnt the four basic ingredients for any game - a set of players, actions, winning criteria and rules. Mr Zhou also taught us how to distinguish between static games and dynamic games. A static game is where players only have one chance to take their action. It is also known as a one shot game.  The palyers’ actions determine the final payoffs directly. 'Prisoner Dilemma' is an example of static games. On the other hand, in a dynamic game, players get to take multiple turns. This is a zero-sum game which is far more complicated than a static game. Each action undertaken by a player brings along present and future consequences. Each action changes the outcome, depending on the state of the game. We played a game where we needed to take a certain number of stones. The one who took the last stone won. By playing this mathematical game, we understood that the winning strategies depend hugely on the state of the game and action sets. Moreover, the winning strategies can only be interpreted backwards while the game is going forward - 'just like how life is' Mr Zhou explained.

After a scrumptious lunch, it was time for the Decision Quality class. Mr Chris Spetzler came up with multiple activities to help train our decision making skills. A video was played about a group of travelling students facing a series of dilemmas.  We were then split into small groups to discuss and make a decision for these travelling students, using the 6 elements of decision quality: creative alternatives, useful information, sound reasoning, commitment to follow through, helping frame, and clear values. Mr Spetzler emphasized that the decision made won't be stronger than the weakest chain, that elements are equally important. Mr Spetzler even shared his personal story to us demonstrating that the decision quality doesn't necessarily lead to the same quality of outcome. Although we failed to achieve our goal, we understood that decision quality is at its best when we try again and again until it works.

In the evening, it was time to play Scavenger Hunt! We were assigned to take photos at various landmarks and with certain people, such as tourists, professors, etc. At first, we felt shy to ask people for directions and get their consent to take photos with them. However, after a while, we opened up and gathered enough courage to take photo with strangers. We ran around the campus, from our favourite bookstore to the Main Quad, from the oval to the Meditation Circle. From this activity, we gained more familiarity with the campus, building our team spirit at the same time. Our most unforgettable experience during this activity was our carefree singing at the old Meyer Green Library location. Definitely, this was the most ridiculous thing we had ever done.

 After all the arguments and laughters, we had a unforgettable blog to wrap up our day.  Our day, though tiring, was surely very meaningful and memorable.  Good night!