In human society, as long as there is interaction between people, there is a game. From the competition between countries to the confrontation between individuals, it is a game in which every participant hopes to get the maximum benefit.
Therefore, learning some game theory knowledge and mastering game thinking can help us find the best strategy to use our strength, thus increasing our chances of winning in a seemingly irreversible disadvantage.
What are zero-sum games and non-zero-sum games?
Zero-sum game refers to all parties involved in the game. Under the strict competition, the gains of one party will inevitably mean the losses of the other party, and the sum of the gains and losses of all parties in the game will always be "zero".
For example, when two players play chess, no matter how fierce the battle is, the final result is nothing more than a win and a loss. If one side wins and one side loses, the total score of the game will always be zero.
However, the real society is full of complex and fierce competition, but these competitions are not as simple as playing chess, and they cannot all be zero-sum games. The result of the game may be positive or negative, which is the so-called non-zero-sum game. If all participants in the game want to achieve a "win-win" or "win-win" result, it can only be a non-zero-sum game.
Non-zero-sum game is a non-confrontational game, and the sum of gains and losses of all parties in the game is not zero. The gain of one player does not necessarily mean that other players will suffer the same amount of losses. In other words, there is no such simple relationship between game participants as "what you gain is what I lose".
There is a plot in the film A Beautiful Mind, which can well explain the non-zero-sum game: On a hot afternoon, Professor johnf nash is giving a class to students and several workers are working outside the classroom window. The noise of the machine turned into harsh noise, and the professor was very unhappy and slammed the window. Some students immediately put forward their opinions: "Professor, please don't close the window, it's too hot!" " "Professor Nash replied with a serious face:" Quiet in the classroom is much more important than whether you are comfortable or not! "Then continue to write mathematical formulas on the blackboard. The relationship between teachers and students is very unpleasant.
At this moment, a female student named Alisha went to the window and opened it. She asked the workers outside the window to suspend construction for 45 minutes. The workers accepted the suggestion and went to rest happily. The contradiction has been solved, and professors and students can continue their classes in the quiet classroom with the windows open.
Alisha's solution to the "window opening problem" has turned the original zero-sum game into another result: students don't have to endure the high temperature indoors, and professors can give lectures in a quiet environment. The result is no longer 0, but 2. It can be seen that those problems that seem to be zero-sum games or negative-sum games will also become positive-sum games because of the clever design of participants.
In the application of non-zero-sum game, in order to achieve win-win or win-win in the game, there must be a prerequisite, that is, "mutual trust and full communication of information." In the former case, Alisha won the trust of workers by communicating with them, thus achieving a win-win result.
But in real life, people often choose zero-sum game under the condition of non-zero-sum game. Why is this? This can be explained by a classic case story in non-zero-sum game theory-"prisoner's dilemma".
"Prisoner's Dilemma" tells a story: two prisoners were put in prison for trial and could not communicate with each other. If two people quibble, everyone will go to jail for a year because of uncertain evidence; If one party confesses and the other party quibbles, the confessor will be released immediately for meritorious service, and the quibbler will be imprisoned for ten years for not cooperating; If both sides confess and expose each other, because the evidence is conclusive, they will be sentenced to eight years in prison. Because prisoners can't trust each other and tend to expose each other, they were sentenced to eight years in prison. The prisoner's dilemma reflects that the best choice of an individual is not the best choice of a group, or that the rational choice of an individual often leads to the irrationality of a group.
Take another example of the "prisoner's dilemma" in shopping malls:
There is a competitive relationship between the two companies in the market, and the two companies are now considering whether to increase advertising fees to increase their income. In game theory, participants in the game should not only consider the choice of their own company, but also consider the choice of competitors when making strategy choices.
From the point of view of Company A, if Company B doesn't raise the advertising fee, Company A's best choice is to raise it, which will increase its income. If Company B raises the advertising fee and Company A doesn't, then part of the market will be occupied by Company B and the income will be reduced, so the best choice for Company A is to raise it. In any case, the best choice for Company A is to increase the advertising fee. Of course, Company B also thought so, and eventually both companies chose to increase advertising fees. However, when both companies choose to improve, the result is a vicious competition cycle, and the two companies will fall into an advertising war. The increase in advertising expenses will damage the profits of both sides and thus fall into a prisoner's dilemma.
The best choice, of course, is that neither company will raise advertising fees, which is beneficial to both sides. However, based on rational considerations, both companies will only pursue the interests of their own companies, that is, they choose a zero-sum game. This game is obviously not the best solution to give consideration to common interests.
The phenomenon of "prisoner's dilemma" can be seen everywhere in real life. For example, many residents will pile up sundries in public corridors, and as a result, everyone is extremely inconvenient, so that when a fire breaks out, it will block the way to escape. But if you don't occupy the public corridor, others will. Every household will choose possession from the perspective of maximizing its own interests. However, the result of the occupation ultimately harmed everyone's common interests.
Application of non-zero-sum game in life
How to get out of the "prisoner's dilemma"? That is to use non-zero-sum game thinking to solve problems.
Non-zero-sum game theory tells us that win-win is the best cooperation effect, and win-win results can be achieved through cooperation, which is a kind of cooperation based on mutual trust, and cooperation is a weapon to maximize interests. Many times, the opponent is not just an opponent. Just as contradictory sides can be transformed, opponents can also become assistants and allies.
As a participant in the game, everyone should distinguish what kind of game they are participating in and choose the strategy that suits them best. If the other party's behavior may make him suffer losses, he should try his best to reduce the risk and cooperate with the other party on the premise of ensuring the basic income.
Like the case just now, the two companies can completely reach an agreement that everyone will not increase advertising fees; Then cooperate sincerely on the basis of trust and live in peace without breaking the contract; But if one party breaches the contract, the other party can also retaliate against it; However, after that, we need to continue to actively seek cooperation of tolerance and trust.
For another example, after tariff war and the trade war, countries all over the world realized that trade protection was ultimately detrimental to their own economies, and that free trade was the right way, so they established a win-win international trade relationship WTO.
With the deepening of economic globalization and multi-polarization of the world, and the complexity of some global issues, people have realized that the thinking of "zero-sum game" can no longer keep pace with the times, and non-zero-sum game will be paid more and more attention.
Robert Wright, a famous writer of Time magazine in the United States, showed the world a brand-new vision in his masterpiece "Non-zero-sum Era-Logic of Human Destiny": the prosperity of human destiny must know how to move from zero-sum era to non-zero-sum era.