WHAT IS SUCCESS?
There are two basic meanings of success:
1. You-Lose, and
2. I-Win.
You-Lose is the kind of success a boxer enjoys in a World Champion title fight. For him to win the title – be Champion of the World – and collect the purse he has to see that the other fighter fails to win. This kind of situation is called, by games theorists, a ‘zero sum’ game and is where success for one player means failure for the other (although in boxing, these days, the loser’s purse of $10 million is hard to think of as failure).
A zero sum game is so named because when the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero.
Backgammon is also a zero sum game as are Olympic team sports and professional sporting competitions like cricket, football, basketball and baseball.
I-Win is more like what happens in life itself. At home (whether in a relationship between lovers or families), or at school, or at work, I can be successful by playing I-Win without anyone having to lose or fail.
– I-Win can happen without my mate having to fail.
– I-Win can happen without my customer having to lose.
– I-Win can happen without my neighbour having to suffer.
DFQ #04:
What is a zero sum game?
What was the most recent zero sum game in which you were a player?:
A situation where the participants wins or losses are equally balanced with their opponents wins or losses. The sum of wins and looses by either party equals zero.
The most recent zero sum game I played in was a job interview.
As in the examples, the players in the zero sum games most often are aware that they are participating in a game in which there are only two options, to win or lose. The winner gets the prize and the loser accepts that this time you came out on the bottom rather then the top. This does not negate that there is something to be learned by all.
Recently I have been teaching my young daughter to play checkers, with one of the most valuable aspects being the zero sum factor.
A zero sum game is so named because when the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero.
Stock or Commodity Investing on both counts. Although, the broker handling the transaction gets a commission regardless of the outcome of the investment.
A zero sum game arises when the participants have just as much to lose as each other and there can be only one winner. The value of the loser’s opportunity loss equals the value of the winner’s gain.
I was recently a player in a tennis match which constitutes a zero sum game.
A zero sum game is one in which when the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero.
The most recent zero sum game in which I was a player was with my nine-year-old playing “speed” (a card game).
A zero sum game is when what one wins, the other loses. The win value minus the loss value equals zero.
The most recent zero sum game in which I was a player was a bet on the dishlickers at Wentworth Park. It was a “meatloaf trifecta” – two outta three ain’t bad. The TAB won what I lost – zero sum game.
1…A zero sum game is so named because when the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero.
2…Tennis
Zero sum game: For there to be a winner there must be an equal and opposite loser
Access to my daughter – the court system is very adversarial win/lose orientated