Having Fun in a Strategic Way

It’s really interesting and ironic how some people could make boring life fun. What we don't know is that they have been using a technique that also has a potential to solve global problems with the same application. This global problem could only be felt whenever one person or a group benefits at the expense of thousands. In Biology, this is parasitism. They are wise parasites that slowly kill people for their benefit. This new book entiled 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' by Len Fisher introduces game theory and how it could be used for problems from minute to humongous. Len Fisher indirectly educates us through this book so we could not be fooled by these parasites and could possibly help in solving problems that we are facing today. All problems are the same may it be big or small because they only revolve in one vicious circle of logic. The book gave me an informal as well as insightful account of key ideas in game theory. As what I understand, game theory emphasizes on how we should maximize gain in competitive situations. This is only applicable if we assume that self-interest is the main reason why people make decisions.

      

The first chapter of the book, trapped in a matrix, was a bit dry. It just explained Nash equilibrium in which it is defined as the stable state of a system involving the interaction of different participants wherein no participant can gain by a unilateral change in strategy if the strategies of the others remain unchanged. The author said that Nash equilibrium is a logical trap.

           

            The second chapter, I cut and you choose, introduced minimax and fair division. Both are strategies in game theory. Minimax is a strategy employed in game theory to minimize a player’s maximum possible loss. On the other hand, fair division by the word itself, is where sets of good are divided between several people such that each person receives his/her equal share. The author connected fair division with anecdotes like how he got trouble as a kid shooting fireworks, as a consequence had to yield fireworks with his brother.

            Chapter three, the seven deadly dilemmas, revolved only on seven of the most interesting game theory problems.

            Chapter four is all about the game rock, paper, scissors which is also the title of the chapter. The author emphasized here that the game could be used in conflict resolution. This is because for him the game has no pure strategy and could be solved if strategies are added when then problem is converted to rock, paper, scissors situations.

            From chapters five to eight, Len Fisher discusses about cooperation. He taught in this chapter how we should bargain effectively, achieve trust and to change the game to avoid the trap.

           

            What I recommend is to read the end notes. It is a substantial part of the book that is full of trivia, narratives and jokes. I personally gave more time reading this part than the real chapters itself. It has less thinking and more reading which my kind of style is.  

The book was overall interesting for me. It’s not one of those types of books that intimidates readers because it has a lot of math. Here, the author kept it ‘child friendly’. What I liked about the book is that Fisher showed how the modern science of game theory has helped biologists to understand how cooperation in nature has evolved and also would investigate how we could apply these lessons to our society. Through this, we could have fun in if we see problems in a strategic way.