The latest great fictional depiction of backwards induction is the Korean thriller Oldboy. Not for the faint of heart, but when the villain says (roughly) "You shouldn't have been wondering why I locked you up. You should have been wondering why I let you out," my jaw dropped.

Oldboy's not for the faint of heart, but you've got to see it at least twice.

CATEGORIES: Game Theory

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Roehl Briones writes:

I agree, that was one incredible film. The science fiction thing about hypnosis (to make a person fall in love) was a bit of a stretch, but you learn to gloss over it.

Even if the protagonist had wondered why he had been released, what good would that have done him in playing the game? Especially when he didn't count on anyone playing tricks with his mind.

Posted August 31, 2005 9:15 PM

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