seems this command helps (idk why if it says nothing about version 2018 in the command):
conda install -c anaconda mkl


Ok so progress. Now I am using pytorch 3 but not 3.1. When I try to force it to install 3.1 it complains with the following:
$ conda install -c pytorch pytorch=0.3.1
Fetching package metadata .........
Solving package specifications: ....

The following specifications were found to be in conflict:
  - pytorch 0.3.1* -> feature:cuda90
  - pytorch 0.3.1* -> feature:cuda91
  - pytorch 0.3.1* -> feature:nccl2
Use "conda info <package>" to see the dependencies for each package.