Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

KK
Kevin Klemme
March 09, 2020
35170 2
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
January 27, 2020
20836 0
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
August 12, 2019
7430 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 19, 2023
3981 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 14, 2023
3507 0
Hot

Mycelia Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 12, 2023
2079 0
O
oliverkinne
December 07, 2023
2587 0

River Wild Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 05, 2023
2257 0
O
oliverkinne
November 30, 2023
2500 0
J
Jackwraith
November 29, 2023
3021 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
November 28, 2023
1973 0
S
Spitfireixa
October 24, 2023
3697 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
October 17, 2023
2626 0
O
oliverkinne
October 10, 2023
2462 0
O
oliverkinne
October 09, 2023
2291 0
O
oliverkinne
October 06, 2023
2509 0

Outback Crossing Review

Board Game Reviews
×
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)

Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.

× Talk about whatever you like related to games that doesn't fit anywhere else.

Game Theory and Nuclear Standoff

More
06 Sep 2017 15:32 #253789 by Shellhead
Game theory is always less fun than it sounds, but can offer some interesting insights to how people think. Saw an interesting article today that applied game theory to the current standoff between North Korea and the United States. Within the article is a fun little game theory "game" that you play against someone else reading the article. Or maybe it's a random number generator. Anyway:

fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-to-win-a-nuclear-standoff/
The following user(s) said Thank You: dysjunct, Erik Twice, Unicron

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
06 Sep 2017 16:05 #253794 by Gregarius
heh, I just finished reading this article. Glad to see another 538 reader here.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
06 Sep 2017 16:43 #253799 by Erik Twice
I think the game displayed disproves the article, rather than prove it. Some thoughts:

a) There's no reason not to let them grab the 100$. You don't become poorer because he's richer.
b) If there's a reason, the game is simply The Prisoner's Dilemma with so poor stakes so as to be not much of a dilemma.
c) Your bids actually reduce the payoff. So the more of a reason there is to bid, the smaller the actual gain and, hence, the less reason to bid.
d) "Bidding low" or "Bidding high" doesn't seem to make sense in that, ultimately, the game would degenerate into a dollar auction. If you bid, why not bid 99,99, 100 or 110?

In other words, the "rational" choice is actually risk-adverse, not dangerous.

---

Personally, this is my view on the subject using game theory: Do not turn the game into one you don't want to play.

For example, you could make a parallel with The Republic of Rome: If you beat someone so much that they cannot compete in the game through normal means they'll be forced to rely on threats and assassination. Assasination has a 33% chance of killing the guy you have been preparing for 3 hours so it's often better to help them out and try to win by a smaller margin than risk them pushing the button.

In real life terms, I thinks this translates to "don't blockade a country to the point their only option are threats". I don't think blockades are successful as a way to produce regime changes and the US strategy of coups, arming guerrillas and leader assassination has proven to be short-sighted.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
06 Sep 2017 17:27 #253805 by Unicron

Erik Twice wrote: Personally, this is my view on the subject using game theory: Do not turn the game into one you don't want to play.


Ha! Nuclear proliferation makes players of us all.

I'm with Erik. The Kim regime does everything out of ensuring its longevity. Provoking annihilation isn't the plan, but sabre rattling and possessing a nuclear deterrent is certainly on the menu. The regime isn't stupid or suicidal. If it were, then it would already have collapsed. As someone that's been researching DPRK for two years, it was still a very good read.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Moderators: Gary Sax
Time to create page: 0.159 seconds