In this blog post i would like to discuss a special case of game theory {Non-Cooperative game} within ourselves. Let me run thru basic introduction on game theory. { for new learners }
Game Theory: { https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory} { Bargaining Problem - By Sir John Nash }
Those who love Intense Mathematics & Differential Equations can run through the above links. In this blog post, let me explain the beautiful theory with a famous example that is discussed in most of the Text Books.
Situation: There are two thieves { say Mahesh & Ram } have committed a diamond burglary. Sleuths have gathered basic evidence, but still they need more evidence to imprison them. So, they decided to apply the Non-Cooperative game theory.
They approached the thieves separately and discussed three scenarios: { And asked them to pick one of these three }
Scenario-1: If you did confess and other didn’t: You will get zero years. Other will get 10 years of sentence.
Scenario-2: If both you confess. You both will get 5 years of sentence.
Scenario-3: If both you didn’t confess. Both of you will get 2 years of sentence.
| Mahesh/Ram | Don’t Confess | Confess |
| Don’t Confess | 2,2 | 10,0 |
| Confess | 0,10 | 5,5 |
In an ideal situation, if both of them are to be safe they should not confess.
However, as they aren’t not loyal to each other. Probability to confess for evading the sentence is high; which is usually called as Prisoners dilemma. And in most cases, it happens to be that they both confesses the crimes.
Definition: Game theory is the analysis of a situation involving conflicting interests in terms of gains and losses among opposing players
This is a very simple example; the mathematical model and its application for “n” number of players has made by Sir John Nash for which he has awarded with Nobel Prize.
Blog:
Let us assume that there are two people { That is Present-You & Future-You }. Let us take a simple decision/situation that we take in our life “We want to maintain our weight & health by consistent work-out”
The ideal situation is where-in we can become better-off is by taking time for our daily work-out. Let us see how decision happens for most of us. { It is just a simple example for portraying the outcome for this blog }
Present-You has to take two decisions i.e.; to perform work-out or not and similarly Future-You has to accommodate the work-out or no work-out for the future.
Present-You thinks that if i take a decision to work-out it would be good. If Present-You didn’t perform work-out; it will all its time and energy to glorify the better present for the future. Such that Future-You has all its time to perform work out.
Similarly, Future-You thinks that i would not be able to perform workout as I have to manage my time and energy for future. So, Future-You wants Present-You to perform work out such that upgraded future demands more time and energy than present.
This results in a no work-out situation for both Present-You and Future-You.
I tried to portray through this classic example where we create our daily dilemma that works against us which hinders our health and wellness.
| Present You | Present You | ||
| Work Out | No Work Out | ||
| Future You | Work Out | Best & Ideal Situation | I can manage present work & Time |
| Future You | No Work-Out | I can manage future work & Time | I can manage both work & time at all times |
To conclude:
There are similar situations that arise in our life; where-in we remain in status-quo for long duration of time.
It is not that we are afraid to take risks and go ahead. It is just that our own forces work against us albeit we know that the results are always fruitful.
Note: As Sadguru says - ” The Individual who has to take care of his their own health & wellness is only YOU”.
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My favourite scenes from ” A Beautiful Mind” Movie:
Game theory Explanation