A BEAUTIFUL MIND

The biographical account of John Nash based on Sylvia Nasar's book.
John Nash and 3 friends at a bar.  A gorgeous blond girl with 4 brunette friends enters, and the friends start debating how they’re going to approach them.  One of them says they should each one try his best, citing Adam Smith: “In competition, individual ambition serves the common good”.  John Nash has the insight for a revolution in governing   dynamics, as the movie calls it, and explains that, if they all go for the blond, they block each other, and none of them gets her.  Worse, when they go for the brunettes, another rejection will ensue, because nobody likes to be second choice.  However, if they each go for one brunette at first, they don’t get in each other’s way and don’t insult the girls, so they win.  “Adam Smith needs revision”, he says, because “the best result will come from everybody in the group doing what’s best for himself, and the group”. Nash's discoveries in game theory have an impact on our lives every day.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE

An exceptionally-told fairy-tale. One scene humorously highlights both strategic manipulation of the rules of the game and the unrealistic assumption of common knowledge.
Westley, in the guise of the Dread Pirate Roberts, confronts his foe-for-the-moment, the Sicilian, Vizzini. Westley challenges him to a Battle of Wits. Two glasses are placed on the table, each containing wine and one purportedly containing poison. The challenge, simply, is to select the glass that does not lead to immediate death.
The scene, beyond providing some comic relief on the theme of common knowledge, also has an important lesson on strategic moves; if the rules of the game may be changed, then the game can be rigged to one player's advantage.