1) The game behind the throne: George R. R. Martin and the balancing power of game theory

In 1996, the American author George R. R. Martin published the first volume of the overwhelming saga A Song of Ice and Fire. In this saga, noble families plot and fight against one another to rule the Seven Kingdoms from the Iron Throne, a seat created by melting together the swords of those who have fallen in battle against the king. The Iron Throne is there to remind both the members of court and the citizens that there will always be someone revolting against the king, just as there will a...