Thank You For the Non-Zero-Sum and Getting What You Need

Game theory, the mathematical theory which can be applied to behaviors, strategic situations, economics, social sciences, and a lot of other situations that one wouldn’t consider to have anything to do with math, explains the zero-sum game concept. 

Zero sum game can be described as a situation in which one person’s gain is another person’s loss. 

No matter how much of something you start with, it all comes down to zero after you pass it around and distribute it into “Haves” and “Have Nots”.

The premise being there’s only so much to go around and it gets competitively passed back and forth in a win/lose scenario for all participants involved until there’s a zero balance left on the table, in the relationship, in the grain silo, on the cake plate, or the planet, for that matter. 

I don’t like the part about the losers.

Game theory is actually far more complex than I am making it sound.

I  just want to talk about balance and happier endings—not a win/lose situation for humans that are forced to share space, commodities, or emotional investments.

Robert Wright wrote a book called Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny. 

His book tells us about how society gravitates toward non-zero-sum as we become more interdependent for economic and social evolution.

It is better for everyone to participate in a win/win solution in cutting up the proverbial pie.

I like it when everybody wins!

I like it when economies, classrooms, kitchens, and human relationships accommodate everybody and everybody gets what they need when they offer what they have to give.

Remember I’m an artist, not a brilliant scientist or philosopher, so for you folks that are a member of the latter group, bear with me in my idealistic notions that sound a little like communism; “To each according to his need, from each according to his ability”. 

I’m not a communist. I’m an artist, like I said.

And in regard to the give and take part of the concept, I realize we can’t always get what we want but if we try sometimes…

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~ by leakelley on November 23, 2008.