Half a century of evolutionary games

Abstract

Evolutionary game theory (EGT) is an indispensable part of modern evolutionary theory. 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the article by John Maynard Smith and George Price that defined central concepts and became a focal point in the field. EGT can address biological questions where there is no obvious “best thing” that an individual can do, because their payoff depends not only on what they do but also on what their ‘opponents’ do. In the last 50 years, EGT has expanded and become integrated with a range of other theoretical methods. A recent theme issue reviewed the history and methodology of the field and presented novel research. In this seminar, some of the authors from the issue will talk about the topic and their papers.