Chicken
Posted: April 11, 2012 Filed under: Dilemmas | Tags: Chicken, common sense and nuclear warfare, Game Theory, gaming, rock paper scissors Leave a comment
Chicken
The game of chicken, also known as Brinkmanship, and hawk-dove among animals, is a contest to push someone to backing down.
In chicken, two individuals race toward each other, usually in a vehicle. The first to swerve out of the way of the other is considered the looser. However, if one does not “swerve”, the result can be disastrous.
When you play the game in politics, it is called Brinkmanship. An example of this would be the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Bertrand Russell covers this more in his book Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare.
In the animal kingdom it’s known as Hawk-Dove. When it comes to competition for food, mates and other resources, animals will alternate between aggressive and passive behavior. It is based on risk versus reward. When two animals want the same resource, they have two options: bluff or fight. If one bluffs, it uses up energy to look big and mean and hopefully won’t get hurt. On the other hand, if one fights, there is a chance of injury and the loss of energy.
Vanessa Hart
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Why is Rock, Paper, Scissors Sometimes Called Ro-Sham-Bo?
Posted: April 11, 2012 Filed under: Dilemmas | Tags: gaming, lord cornwallis, Ro Sham Bo, rock paper scissors Leave a commentWhy is Rock, Paper, Scissors Sometimes Called Ro-Sham-Bo?
Rock, Paper, Scissors is also known as: Chief of the Village – Tiger – Mother of the Chief of the Village, Snake – Frog – Slug, Elephant – Human Being – Earwig, Gear – man – Gun, Bear – Cowboy – Ninja.
Whatever the name, children aren’t the only ones to play it. Adults have also been known to use it when they cannot agree or would rather leave a decision to chance. George Washington is reputed to have played with Lord Cornwallis and the Comte De Rochambeau to decide who would be the last to leave Cornwallis’s tent after signing the British surrender at York-Town in 1781. The story goes that Rochambeau won, which is why the game is still called Ro-Sham-Bo in some quarters.
Vanessa Hart
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On Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life by Len Fisher
Posted: March 29, 2012 Filed under: Dilemmas | Tags: broken promises, confrontation, domestic quarrels, game theorists, Game Theory, gaming, hidden logic, len fisher, matrix, neighborhood arguments, Paper, rabbit holes, Rock, rock paper scissors, Scissors Leave a comment
On Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life by Len Fisher
In this book, Len Fisher introduces us to the matrix and the seven deadly dilemmas. He introduces strategies that can be used in every day interactions. (When used correctly, they can be empowering.) These strategies are well-known to game theorists. Game theory makes us aware of what is going on behind confrontations, broken promises, domestic quarrels, neighborhood arguments, industrial disputes, and many other facets of life.
A hidden logic trap pervades our lives. This trap is known as the matrix and it is deep and wide. There are many complex situations, choices, opportunities, beliefs, and “rabbit holes” that make up the matrix. These “rabbit holes” leave us with dilemmas.
The seven deadly dilemmas are knows as:
the prisoner’s dilemma, the tragedy of the commons, the free rider problem, chicken, the volunteer’s dilemma, the battle of the sexes, and stag hunt.
The search for answers to these major challenges to cooperation comes to three main approaches.
They are: change our attitudes, benevolent authority and self-enforcing strategies. When one becomes proficient in these skills it can add to our chances of resolving our problems.
Vanessa Hart
Vanessa Hart
Vanessa Hart's 