Robert Aumann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Aumann
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Aumann in 2015
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Robert John Aumann
8 June 1930 Frankfurt, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia
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| Nationality | Israeli, American |
| Institution | Hebrew University of Jerusalem Stony Brook University |
| Field | Mathematical economics Game theory |
| Doctoral advisor |
George Whitehead, Jr. |
| Doctoral students |
David Schmeidler Sergiu Hart Abraham Neyman Yair Tauman |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics John von Neumann Theory Prize Harvey Prize in Science and Technology Israel Prize for Economical Research |
| Information at IDEAS / RePEc | |
Robert John Aumann (Hebrew name: ישראל אומן, Yisrael Aumann; born June 8, 1930) is a famous Israeli-American mathematician. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He teaches at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He also holds a visiting position at Stony Brook University. He helped start the Stony Brook Center for Game Theory.
In 2005, Aumann received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He won for his important work on how people cooperate or conflict. He used a special way of thinking called game theory to understand these situations. He shared the prize with Thomas Schelling.
Contents
Early Life and School
Aumann was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His family moved to the United States in 1938. They left just two weeks before a terrible event called Kristallnacht. He went to a high school called the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School in New York City.
Aumann studied mathematics at the City College of New York. He earned his first degree in 1950. He then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his Master's degree in 1952. In 1955, he earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from MIT. His Ph.D. paper was about "knot theory." His teacher was George Whitehead, Jr..
A Career in Academia
In 1956, Aumann started teaching mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since 1989, he has also been a visiting professor at Stony Brook University. He has taught at other famous universities too. These include the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University.
His Big Ideas in Math
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Aumann's most important work is in game theory. Game theory is a way to study how people or groups make decisions. It looks at situations where their choices affect each other.
He focused a lot on "repeated games." These are situations where players face the same choices many times. He showed how people might cooperate over time in these games.
Aumann also came up with the idea of "correlated equilibrium." This is a way for players to coordinate their actions. It is more flexible than other ideas in game theory. He also helped define "common knowledge." This is when everyone knows something, and everyone knows that everyone else knows it, and so on.
He worked with Lloyd Shapley on something called the "Aumann–Shapley value." This helps share the gains from cooperation fairly. Aumann also has a famous idea called "Aumann's agreement theorem." It says that if two smart people have the same starting beliefs, they cannot agree to disagree. This means they can't have different opinions if they share all their information.
Aumann and Maschler used game theory to study old Jewish texts. They looked at problems from the Talmud. They solved a puzzle about how to divide a late husband's property among his three wives. This depended on how much money was left. Their work on this topic was dedicated to Aumann's son, Shlomo. Shlomo was killed in 1982 while serving in the army.
Many students earned their Ph.D.s under Aumann. Some of them are David Schmeidler, Sergiu Hart, Abraham Neyman, and Yair Tauman.
Views on Politics
Aumann gave a Nobel lecture called "War and Peace." Here are some of his ideas from that speech:
- War is not always illogical. We need to study it scientifically to understand it. This can help us prevent it.
- Studying repeated games helps us think about the future, not just the present.
- Sometimes, simple ideas for peace can actually cause war. Things like a strong army or threats can sometimes prevent war.
Aumann is part of a group called "Professors for a Strong Israel." This group has right-wing political views. He did not agree with Israel's plan to leave Gaza in 2005. He believed it was wrong for the settlers and a danger to Israel's safety.
He used a game theory idea called the "Blackmailer Paradox" to explain his view. He argued that giving land to Arab states was not a good strategy. He felt that if one side makes very firm demands, the other side might give in. This is because they fear getting nothing if they are not flexible.
Because of his political views, some people in Europe criticized the decision to give him the Nobel Prize. About 1,000 academics signed a petition to cancel his award.
In a speech, Aumann said that Israel was in "deep trouble." He thought that some religious Jewish groups might have been right about their concerns with the early Zionist movement. He believes that Zionism needs a religious foundation to survive.
In 2008, Aumann joined a political party called Ahi. This party is part of the religious Zionist movement.
Personal Life
Aumann married Esther Schlesinger in April 1955. They met in 1953 when Esther was visiting the United States from Israel. They had five children together. Their oldest son, Shlomo, was killed in 1982. He was serving in the army during the 1982 Lebanon War. An institute that publishes old Jewish legal texts is named after him.
Esther passed away in 1998. In 2005, Aumann married Esther's sister, Batya Cohn, who was also a widow.
Aumann is a cousin of the famous writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks.
Awards and Honors
- 1974: Became an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- 1983: Received the Harvey Prize in Science and Technology.
- 1994: Won the Israel Prize for economics.
- 1998: Awarded the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics.
- 2002: Received The EMET Prize in Social Sciences.
- 2005: Shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Thomas Schelling.
- 2006: Given the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award from the city of Jerusalem.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
- List of Israeli Nobel laureates
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
- List of economists
