BACKWARD INDUCTION

Process of concluding backwards from the end of a certain problem or scenario to determine the array of optimal actions in game theory. Looking at a two-player game, the method begins at the last step or decision of the player and determines his next move by expecting the player’s next action at that junction. Results from this process often do not hold up in reality. Game theory inventors John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern first mentioned this process in 1944.