{"id":110653,"date":"2023-08-06T15:07:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T19:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=110653"},"modified":"2023-08-16T13:17:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T17:17:59","slug":"rationality-in-game-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/rationality-in-game-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Rationality in Game Theory: Steven Pinker Explores 3 Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When is it rational to act irrationally? How might irrational thinking devastate an entire community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven Pinker examines how people make rational decisions as part of a group. He discusses game theory, which looks at how rational thinking is affected when the needs of an individual are pitted against the needs of others. In this context, he explains the zero-sum game, the volunteer\u2019s dilemma, and the tragedy of the commons<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to understand rationality in game theory with examples from Pinker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Rationality in Game Theory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pinker shows how rationality in game theory demonstrates two intriguing phenomena. Sometimes, acting irrationally can be the most rational choice. Also, people can be convinced to make rational choices when they\u2019ll see benefits from those choices only if everyone else chooses rationally as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In The Undercover Economist<\/em><\/a>, Tim Harford defines a game<\/em> as an activity in which predicting another\u2019s actions affects your decisions<\/a>. With this definition, many situations in our lives can be considered games, like driving, where how you drive depends on how others are driving.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1: The Zero-Sum Game<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pinker first examines how game theory shows that sometimes, a rational person must make choices that are, on their face, irrational<\/strong>, such as when opposing another person in a competition. This happens in a zero-sum game<\/em>\u2014a match-up that produces one winner and one loser <\/strong>(so that the \u201cpositive\u201d win and \u201cnegative\u201d loss add up to a sum of \u201czero\u201d). In such a contest, unpredictability has an advantage, as it prevents the other person from preparing a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why, for example, a tennis player will try to serve the ball unpredictably, even if, say, her strongest serve is to the right side of the court. If she acts \u201crationally\u201d and always serves her strongest serve (to the right), her opponent will predict it and prepare to meet it. Thus, her most rational move is to act randomly and irrationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Some posit that the advantages of unpredictability are so important to human interactions that they\u2019ve even influenced our evolution\u2014and it might explain why some people are left-handed<\/a>. In the same way that an irrational choice brings an advantage of surprise in a zero-sum game, left-handedness brings an advantage of surprise in hand-to-hand combat, favoring the person throwing the unexpected punch. Scientists theorize that the reason left-handedness is not more<\/em> common, given this advantage, is that were it more common, it would no longer have the advantage of surprise. Thus it might be a somewhat self-limiting evolutionary adaptation.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2: Volunteer\u2019s Dilemma <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A volunteer\u2019s dilemma<\/em> is another situation in which a person\u2019s best choice might be an irrational one. In this dilemma, one person must do something dangerous to help the group as a whole<\/strong>. If they\u2019re successful, they\u2019ll save everyone (including themselves). But, if they fail, everyone will suffer\u2014and they\u2019ll suffer most of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019re marooned with a group of friends on an island and to get off the island, one of you must swim across shark-infested waters to get help. If you succeed, everyone will be saved, but if you fail, the rescue boats won\u2019t know where the group is\u2014and you\u2019ll<\/em> be eaten by sharks. The question becomes, who will volunteer for such a task?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A volunteer\u2019s dilemma is similar to a zero-sum game in that the incentives of the individuals are in conflict\u2014no one wants to be the one entering the water. However, the end result of this dilemma is not zero-sum: If the volunteer succeeds, everyone wins. If the volunteer fails, everyone loses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In such a situation, everyone\u2019s individual rational choice is to let someone else volunteer and put themselves in danger. However, if no one volunteers, everyone loses. Thus, in order to ultimately choose rationally so that everyone<\/em> has a chance of survival<\/a>, someone will have to irrationally put themselves in danger<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Psychologists point to the similarities between the volunteer\u2019s dilemma and the bystander effect<\/a>, in which people are less likely to help someone when other people are present. In both the volunteer\u2019s dilemma and the bystander effect<\/a>, people are less likely to act because of a \u201cdiffusion of responsibility\u201d: when there are more people, each individual assumes someone else will take on the responsibility to carry out the necessary action. In large groups of people, the volunteer\u2019s dilemma can be especially dangerous because it leads to no one stepping up. If you were on the hypothetical island with a hundred other people. You might ask, \u201cWhy should I be the one to put my life on the line?\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3: The Tragedy of the Commons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The tragedy of the commons<\/em> is a dynamic that applies to situations involving shared resources, where everyone in a group has an individual incentive<\/a> to take as much of that resource for themselves as possible and contribute as little as possible, which ultimately harms everyone<\/strong>. For example, each fisher in a village will be incentivized to catch as many fish as they can, so that others don\u2019t take them first. Unfortunately, if everyone is fishing aggressively, the stock is soon depleted and then no one has enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same dynamic shows up in any situation where a public good is shared, be it roads, schools, or a military force\u2014everyone benefits from using these things, but each individual benefits more<\/em> if others<\/em> pay for them<\/strong>. This dynamic also affects how the world\u2019s environmental crisis plays out, as each individual or country is incentivized to consume energy and resources as they wish, hoping that others will curtail their<\/em> own use. However, those others have the same incentives to use as much as they want to, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pinker writes that the most effective way to manage this dilemma is to remove the choice from individuals and instead have an outsider regulate people\u2019s decisions\u2014specifically, a government or organization that oversees how much each individual can take from the shared resource and establishes rules or contracts that individuals must abide by. When \u201cfree riders\u201d are punished for taking too much or not contributing enough (through fines, for example, for failing to pay taxes), everyone is more likely to refrain from the self-benefiting behavior that can drain a public resource because they can trust that others are also refraining.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When is it rational to act irrationally? How might irrational thinking devastate an entire community? Steven Pinker examines how people make rational decisions as part of a group. He discusses game theory, which looks at how rational thinking is affected when the needs of an individual are pitted against the needs of others. In this context, he explains the zero-sum game, the volunteer\u2019s dilemma, and the tragedy of the commons. Continue reading to understand rationality in game theory with examples from Pinker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":14995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,9,24],"tags":[1127],"class_list":["post-110653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics","category-psychology","category-society","tag-rationality","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nRationality in Game Theory: Steven Pinker Explores 3 Games - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rationality in game theory demonstrates some intriguing phenomena. 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