Theoretically Speaking

Here goes another attempt in writing a decent book review because I can’t quite organize my thoughts at the moment as my brain is about to explode due to this crazy hell week but I’ll try my best :)

At first glance of the title of the book Rock, Paper, Scissors by Len Fisher, it got me thinking already what the idea of the book really was about. Rock, Paper, Scissors was just a simple game back when I was still a kid. It was commonly used as a decision making game or for severe boredom cases, we simply play “bato bato pick”. However, after reading the book, a new door of perspective opened up. It was definitely a good read. Even though it was my first time in going about the Game Theory, it was a cool topic to read about and I really gained knowledge from it. The author was good in elaborately explaining the points in the book so that even ordinary people could understand well.

In the book, Fisher opened up that Game theory could be found everywhere from the simplest environments to much complicated ones. Game theory is crucial and useful especially in explaining complications like cheating, divorces, etc. and on how to strategize well for competitions and the likes. However, there was another side to it, that there could be collaboration instead of competition.

This was a good thought that people tend to be more cooperative and this book showed how by cooperating, negative values could be avoided. In life, nothing is easy. Playing life is never easy. Sometimes, you might be at a disadvantage and sometimes you might be at the top but one thing is for sure, either way, you have to work hard for it. However, what is good for you might not be really the best for others. If you only think about yourself or if everybody just thought about themselves, things will get pretty complicated. So, cooperation will be there to save the day. In everything, ranging from the very minute cells in our body until the vast, infinitesimal universe, there is and should be cooperation to keep everything balanced and in place.

To provide true to life examples, the author used the game “I cut and you choose” which allows a venue for cooperation due to self-interest. To sum it all up, the author was able to successfully bridge his insights to his readers and provide a great way in understanding how cooperation goes a long way.