"Rock, Paper, Scissors is a refreshingly informal as well as insightful account of key ideas in game theory. Len Fisher gives many examples, several from his own life,of games that post harrowing choices for their players. He shows how game theory not only illuminates the consequences of these choices but also may help the players extricate themselves from situations likely to cause anger or grief."
- Steven J. Brams, New York University, author of Mathematics and Democracy
These are the works uttered by Steven Brams on Fisher’s one of a kind masterpiece. The fourth book entitled “Rock Paper Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life” seeks to understand the dynamics of, well, the game theory and how does it have an impact in our daily lives. Based on the title itself, the theme of the book is interesting as it suggests “games,” and everybody plays games.
Game theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with strategy analysis for competitive events where the outcome of a participant’s choice of action is dependent critically on the action of their opponent. Written by Len Fisher, the book talks about game theory and how it is relevant in our daily lives.
The first chapter revolves on the Prisoner, focusing mainly on his dilemma and gives that the Nash equilibrium is a logical trap. The Nash equilibrium is derived from selfish thinking and unless equilibrium is achieved. This chapter is full of interesting examples and explanations. One example is about the two prisoners. It was best for both prisoners decided to remain shut than telling the risks that they’re in, depriving cooperation. When dealing with worldly situations, not thinking about you is the most suitable way to solve the said equilibrium. The first chapter initially brought me from a typical boring reading to an excited and enjoyable one.
The second chapter picks up with “I cut and you choose.” The chapter offered an exquisite introduction to concepts of mini-max and fair division. The author elaborated fair division based on his life experiences such as how he was involved in a trouble as a kid shooting fireworks, and as a result had to yield fireworks with his brother. The answer that he intuitively thought became a sudden realization for the application of the minimax principle. It is also fascinating that Fisher discussed the principle of equal division of the contested sum.
The third chapter revolved on the seven of the most interesting game theory problems, which Fisher classifies them as “the seven deadly dilemmas.” Here, Fisher listed among the following “seven deadly dilemmas:” the prisoner’s dilemma, the volunteer’s dilemma, battle of the sexes, and the stag hunt which we should avoid. Here, the author provided a summary of these problems. In my life situations, I can somewhat relate to the volunteer’s dilemma. I remember when my parents gave us an errand to go to the supermarket and do the weekly grocery. Since I want to avoid being nagged and scolded by my parents, I volunteered confidently even though I have tons of stuff to do (also being the eldest in the family, bearing bigger responsibilities than my siblings). Also, it is also done to remove the awkwardness or breaking the silence in the classroom when the instructor asks a question.
Now, the main highlight of the book is found in chapter four, focusing on the game “rock, paper, scissors” (literally). Different races and cultures play this very popular game which only differs in its name. I also remember that someone during my high school days told me that this game has also been used in resolving conflicts of different parties involved. One thing unique in this game is that it has no strategy – meaning we are unsure of what will be the outcome. How does this work? Well, two parties are involved in this game and the principle is that rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock (and I don’t know how paper beats rock xD). The first participant to reach at least two points wins the game. Thus, situations which don’t have any decision due to the equal weight of two points, it is the best way to solve the uncertainty. Converting strategies and adding them to rock-paper-scissors situations lightens decision-making process. In the book, the author discussed the truel (a three-participant duel). The main principle of the game is that when you feel that you are in the way to losing, it is best to let the two winning players duel out and win against another.
The remaining chapters five to eight discussed on cooperation. Under cooperation, he discussed how trust can be achieved, effectively bargain in life situations, and change the fate of the game to avoid the “trap” of the Prisoner’s dilemma and undesirable outcome. For cooperation to work, communication is a vital tool to develop warm relationships. The author’s anecdote on communication focused about how he was almost punched by a drunken soccer player, yet through communication, they were able to resolve the problem. From the author’s anecdote, we can deduce that communication leads to negotiation, reducing violence and anarchy.
While the author was writing about trust, I remember the quote, “Trust is like a glass. Once it gets broken, you can try your best to glue it back.” Indeed, trust of an individual is difficult to obtain in a world where we feel unsecured. I remember my past relationship with "XX". Miscommunication has led us to form a scar in our five-month long relationship. From this miscommunication, our trust for each other was broken and it is hard to gain again the trust that we sow, which led the relationship to end. Yet, after months of distancing from one another, our friendship still prevailed and today, we still communicate and forget the dark past.
Back to the book, the author narrated how they tested the hormone oxytocin on people and studied how well it affected the negotiations. Results of the said experiment found out that spraying oxytocin on the nose induces increase in trust. Yet, I think oxytocin is hard to synthesize in the laboratory. Other experiments were also used, one such is the involvement of 300 unchained bicycles, which deemed to be useful for people and be returned upon used. In a turn of events, all of the bikes were unreturned. I find this part humorous. The golden rule – “Don’t do unto others what others don’t want do unto you.” was discussed also in the book.
The book is a good read. Indeed, real life situations gives more wonderful experiences and how we can relate to the topics what Fisher stressed on the book. With Fisher’s work, we are all unique as we can connect to Fisher’s point of views and examples. The book is audience-friendly and I find it suitable for all ages. I want to leave this quote to all those readers there – “Life is a game. This is your strategy guide. Everyone is playing.”
No comments:
Post a Comment