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The Scroll of the Scribes

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King Solomon, thought by some to be the wisest man who ever lived, anticipated the economists concept of separating equilibria by about 3,000 years. In his most famous case, he proposed cutting a baby in half to separate the true mother and the false mother. The true mother said: “No, give him to the other woman,” whereas the claimed mother accepted the proposed deal. Not only did Solomon perceive a difference in risk preferences — he knew the true mother would not accept even a small chance of slicing the baby in half — but he anticipated that the false mother would not figure out how to pose as the true mother. The baby was placed in the true mother’s arms. Recent archaeological discoveries have unearthed a lost scroll that detailed another separation decision by Solomon, where, once again, he uses risk to gauge preference intensity. One day a wealthy man came to Solomon for advice. He observed: “I have two sons, X and Y. They are both fine boys, and help me administer my business. I

Uncategorized | Reading Time: 4 minutes The Scroll of the Scribes King Solomon, thought by some to be the wisest man who ever lived, anticipated the economists concept of separating equilibria by about 3,000 years. In his most famous case, he proposed cutting a baby in half to separate the true mother and the false mother. The true mother said: “No, give him to the other woman,” whereas the claimed mother accepted the proposed deal. Not only did Solomon perceive a difference in risk preferences — he knew the true mother would not accept even a small chance of slicing the baby in half — but he

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