In 2017, I learned about Game Theory. It was a shocking but exciting revelation. I lost my innocence in that I understood that people can play games. This was when I finally started to make sense of people and that socialising can be a complex equation.
Game theory is a branch of applied maths that provides tools for analyzing situations in which players make decisions that are interdependent. This interdependence causes each player to consider the other player’s possible decisions, or strategies, in formulating strategy.
We often see Game Theory best demonstrated in economics and politics. You have heard politics is a zero sum game, in which one person’s gain is equivalent to another’s loss, so the net change in wealth or benefit is zero.
John Nash depicted in the film ‘A Beautiful Mind’ came up with the Nash equilibrium for Economics when defining the solution of a non-cooperative game involving two or more players. E.g. If all Men in a bar hit on the same women then they are all bound to lose.
My late stepdad initially didn’t act kindly when I told him about my new found knowledge of game theory. He misinterpreted me and assumed this information meant I was “playing games all my life”. Once I was diagnosed Autistic in 2019 he seemed to understand me better.
I find Game Theory very useful in social situations. As it it allows me to handle complex social situations. Not all situations can be helped by it but it helps me think of potential cause and effect from my own behaviour. The Bible still remains my moral guide.