{"id":"https://openalex.org/W1985667642","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.10.113","title":"The Easiest Hard Problem","display_name":"The Easiest Hard Problem","publication_year":2002,"publication_date":"2002-01-01","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W1985667642","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.10.113","mag":"1985667642"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1511/2002.10.113","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.10.113","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.10.113","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S203291325","display_name":"American Scientist","issn_l":"0003-0996","issn":["0003-0996","1545-2786"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"listed_in":["anvur-scientific","cwts-core","dongbi-c","poland-20","russia-white-list-4"],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310315943","host_organization_name":"Sigma Xi","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310315943"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Sigma Xi"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"American Scientist","raw_type":"journal-article"},"volume":null,"type":"article","is_traditional":true,"indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":false,"oa_status":"closed","oa_url":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5109573203","display_name":"Brian Hayes","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Brian Hayes","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":0,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5109573203"],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":4.7148,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":150,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.94440516,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":95,"max":99},"biblio":{"volume":"90","issue":"2","first_page":"113","last_page":"113"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10991","display_name":"Game Theory and Voting Systems","score":0.9589999914169312,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2002","display_name":"Economics and Econometrics"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/20","display_name":"Economics, Econometrics and Finance"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10991","display_name":"Game Theory and Voting Systems","score":0.9589999914169312,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2002","display_name":"Economics and Econometrics"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/20","display_name":"Economics, Econometrics and Finance"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11031","display_name":"Game Theory and Applications","score":0.01640000008046627,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1803","display_name":"Management Science and Operations Research"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/18","display_name":"Decision Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10948","display_name":"Advanced Combinatorial Mathematics","score":0.0044999998062849045,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2607","display_name":"Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/26","display_name":"Mathematics"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/team-selection","display_name":"team selection","score":0.6010000109672546},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/pecking-order","display_name":"pecking order","score":0.5910000205039978},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/ranking","display_name":"ranking","score":0.367000013589859},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/game-theory","display_name":"game theory","score":0.32199999690055847}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.4086323082447052}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":3,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1511/2002.10.113","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.10.113","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.10.113","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S203291325","display_name":"American Scientist","issn_l":"0003-0996","issn":["0003-0996","1545-2786"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"listed_in":["anvur-scientific","cwts-core","dongbi-c","poland-20","russia-white-list-4"],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310315943","host_organization_name":"Sigma Xi","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310315943"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Sigma Xi"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"American Scientist","raw_type":"journal-article"},{"id":"doi:10.1511/2002.2.113","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.2.113","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1511/2002.2.113","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S203291325","display_name":"American Scientist","issn_l":"0003-0996","issn":["0003-0996","1545-2786"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"listed_in":["anvur-scientific","cwts-core","dongbi-c","poland-20","russia-white-list-4"],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310315943","host_organization_name":"Sigma Xi","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310315943"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Sigma Xi"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"American Scientist","raw_type":"journal-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.365.2739","doi":null,"is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.365.2739","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":"http://bit-player.org/wp-content/extras/bph-publications/AmSci-2002-03-Hayes-NPP.pdf","raw_type":"text"}],"best_oa_location":null,"sustainable_development_goals":[],"study_designs":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":9,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1502873554","https://openalex.org/W1520154906","https://openalex.org/W1566860901","https://openalex.org/W1569122366","https://openalex.org/W1620410031","https://openalex.org/W2123710011","https://openalex.org/W2123980360","https://openalex.org/W2149255574","https://openalex.org/W4213200873"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W2936546594","https://openalex.org/W7160415511","https://openalex.org/W93979905","https://openalex.org/W2948050138","https://openalex.org/W2051036637","https://openalex.org/W3115300977","https://openalex.org/W2971818571","https://openalex.org/W2502171630","https://openalex.org/W569485168","https://openalex.org/W2605909991"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"One":[0],"of":[1,5,28,35,69,86,103,105],"the":[2,29,36,55,60,62,67,82,98,110],"cherished":[3],"customs":[4],"childhood":[6],"is":[7],"choosing":[8],"up":[9],"sides":[10],"for":[11],"a":[12,51],"ball":[13],"game.":[14],"Where":[15],"I":[16],"grew":[17],"up,":[18],"we":[19],"did":[20],"it":[21],"this":[22,87],"way:":[23],"The":[24,84],"two":[25,92],"chief":[26],"bullies":[27],"neighborhood":[30,111],"would":[31,42,53],"appoint":[32],"themselves":[33],"captains":[34],"opposing":[37],"teams,":[38],"and":[39],"then":[40],"they":[41],"take":[43],"turns":[44],"picking":[45],"other":[46],"players.":[47],"On":[48],"each":[49,102],"round,":[50],"captain":[52],"choose":[54],"most":[56],"capable":[57],"(or,":[58],"toward":[59],"end,":[61],"least":[63],"inept)":[64],"player":[65],"from":[66],"pool":[68],"remaining":[70],"candidates,":[71],"until":[72],"everyone":[73],"present":[74],"had":[75],"been":[76],"assigned":[77],"to":[78,90,100],"one":[79],"side":[80],"or":[81],"other.":[83],"aim":[85],"ritual":[88],"was":[89],"produce":[91],"evenly":[93],"matched":[94],"teams":[95],"and,":[96],"along":[97],"way,":[99],"remind":[101],"us":[104],"our":[106],"precise":[107],"ranking":[108],"in":[109],"pecking":[112],"order.":[113],"It":[114],"usually":[115],"worked.":[116]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":4},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":7},{"year":2024,"cited_by_count":4},{"year":2023,"cited_by_count":3},{"year":2022,"cited_by_count":5},{"year":2021,"cited_by_count":10},{"year":2020,"cited_by_count":5},{"year":2019,"cited_by_count":7},{"year":2018,"cited_by_count":5},{"year":2017,"cited_by_count":4},{"year":2016,"cited_by_count":7},{"year":2015,"cited_by_count":4},{"year":2014,"cited_by_count":7},{"year":2013,"cited_by_count":4},{"year":2012,"cited_by_count":3}],"updated_date":"2026-11-10T11:39:43.021295","created_date":"2016-06-24T00:00:00"}