BLUFFING CAN BE REWARDING IN
LOVE AFFAIRS:
The lesson of Cyrano de Bergerac
Sergio Rinaldi
DEI, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
EEP, IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria
OUTLINE
• PREMISE ON MODELS
• MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
• WHAT ABOUT LOVE AFFAIRS?
• CYRANO DE BERGERAC
• EXTENSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
PREMISE ON MODELS
Can we graphically describe the evolution of a love story?
𝑥
𝑥
𝑥
0
time 0
time 0
𝑥
𝑥
𝑥
0
time 0
time
0
time
time
𝑥1
PREMISE ON MODELS
From individuals to couples
𝑥2
0
time
𝑥2
time
0
0
time
𝑥1
𝑥2
0
PREMISE ON MODELS
Typical
love stories 𝑥
𝑥
2
𝑥1
𝑥2
0
0
2
𝑥1
𝑥2
𝑥1
0
0
𝑥1
𝑥2
𝑥1
0
𝑥1
PREMISE ON MODELS
1: SHE
2: HE
SHE
t: today
t+1: tomorrow
𝑥1 (𝑡 + 1) = 𝑥1 (𝑡) −𝛼1 𝑥1 (𝑡) +ρ1 𝐴2 +𝑅1 (𝑥2 (𝑡))
𝑅1 (𝑥2 )
𝑅1 +
𝑥2
𝑅1 −
Similarly for HE
Gone with the Wind (1936) – Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)
Scarlett O'Hara
Rhett Butler
Vivien Leigh
Clark Gable
Gone with the Wind (1939) - Victor Fleming
Gone with the Wind (1936) – Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)
Il Canzoniere (1366) – Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374)
Laura de Sade
Francesco Petrarca
Francesco’s love
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
Time [years]
0
5
10
15
20
Jules et Jim (1953) – Henri-Pierre Roché (1879-1959)
Jules
Kathe
Jim
Oskar Werner
Jeanne Moreau
Henri Serre
Jules et Jim (1962) - François Truffaut
Jules et Jim (1953) – Henri-Pierre Roché (1879-1959)
La belle et la bête (1740)
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711-1780)
Beauty and the Beast (1991) - Walt Disney
Pride and Prejudice (1813) – Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Elizabeth Bennet
Fitzwilliam Darcy
Keira Knightley
Matthew Macfadyen
Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Joe Wright
Cyrano de Bergerac – Edmond Rostand (1868-1918)
Cyrano de Bergerac
Roxane
ACyr = - 2
ARox = 0.6
Gérard Depardieu
Anne Brochet
Christian de Neuvillette
AChr = 1
Vincent Perez
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) - Jean-Paul Rappeneau
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
a simple experiment
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
two equilibria
anaerobic bacteria
SICK
HEALTHY
aerobic bacteria
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
one equilibrium and one cycle
NORMAL
HICCUP
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
two strange attractors
NORMAL
EPYLESSY
MULTIPLE ATTRACTORS
From bad to good
GOOD
???
BAD
WHAT ABOUT LOVE AFFAIRS?
𝑥2
GOOD
𝑥1
BAD
WHAT ABOUT LOVE AFFAIRS?
𝑥2
GOOD
IDEA: Bluff
𝑥1
BAD
– Love
𝑥 →𝑥+𝐵
– Appeal 𝐴 → 𝐴 + 𝐵
WHAT ABOUT LOVE AFFAIRS?
NO BLUFF
𝑥2
WITH BLUFF
𝑥2
GOOD
GOOD
𝑥1
BAD
𝑥1
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Fifteen years later
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
The model
SHE
HE
𝑥1 (𝑡 + 1) = 𝑥1 (𝑡) −𝛼1 𝑥1 (𝑡) + ρ1 𝐴2 + 𝑅1 (𝑥2 (𝑡))
𝑥2 (𝑡 + 1) = 𝑥2 (𝑡) −𝛼2 𝑥2 (𝑡) + ρ2 𝐴1 + 𝑅2 (𝑥1 (𝑡))
Cyrano
Roxane
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
The model
SHE
HE
𝑥1 (𝑡 + 1) = 𝑥1 (𝑡) −𝛼1 𝑥1 (𝑡) + ρ1 𝐴2 + 𝑅1 (𝑥2 (𝑡))
𝑥2 (𝑡 + 1) = 𝑥2 (𝑡) −𝛼2 𝑥2 (𝑡) + ρ2 𝐴1 + 𝑅2 (𝑥1 (𝑡))
The parameters
Virtual phase: without bluffing
𝑥2
GOOD
BAD
0
𝑥1
Real phase: with bluffing
𝑥2
𝑃
0
𝑥1
Separation phase
𝑥2
𝑃
𝑄
0
𝑥1
Virtual phase: the expected future
𝑥2
GOOD
𝑄
BAD
0
𝑥1
Summary: The overall story
𝑥2
GOOD
𝑃
𝑄
BAD
0
𝑥1
EXTENSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
EXTENSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
EXTENSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
• high  no bluffing
Appeals: • intermediate  temporary bluffing
• low  permanent bluffing
These results explain the incresing use of
chatting and aesthetic surgery