What are Zero Sum Games? and how you can identify them to avoid playing them in the first place? is what we would discuss in the following passages. The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit, and not plant trees that you expect to be under the shade.
What are Zero Sum Games?
A zero sum game is a situation where-in one person’s gain is equivalent to another person’s loss, so the net change in wealth or benefit is zero.
- This idea was introduced in Game Theory as a theoretical framework for studying social situations with competing individuals.
How to Avoid Zero Sum Games
All behavior is contextual
Integration
Look for an environment where integration is encouraged
How Zero Sum Games effects your life
A win is only possible at the expense of an opponent’s loss
- When people start embracing this mindset they stop functioning in a cooperative way and tend to become competetive
- This competetiveness in turn makes people act selfishly and they start viewing others as a competitive threat
- It has a second order effect which makes it hard to mix friendship and work
Wealth
Instead of status we should ideally seek Wealth, which is a positive sum game
How to identify Zero Sum Games
Look around and identify the people you are playing with
- If people surround you, put their motives above yours and do everything to ****** an opportunity from you without considering the cost involved, then you are most likely playing a zero sum game
- Examples
- Poker and other Gambling games
- Real world Status Games
- Status is the currency of politicians, journalists, actors and oligarchs who are always trying to one-up each other
- Office Politics
- Virtual world status games
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