What Game Theory Reveals About Life, The Universe, and Everything

Two people getting excited to meet each other because they both respect the others work is the most wholesome thing

"Be nice, be forgiving, but don't be a pushover" I feel like that's something all of us can appreciate.

The important thing to note is that the GOAL is to accumulate points, NOT to 'defeat the opponent.' That is an absolutely significant thing to note.

It's great to see this idea out there! I watched the BBC documentary "Nice Guys Finish First" few year back and I loved it immediately. One of my favorite moments in the doc was when they give this game to students. There was one student that always tried to cooperate. When they asked him why did he played like that, his answer was that he realised that the biggest score in the game is not 5 (when you beat the other player), but 6 (when you both cooperate and have 3 points each). That really stuck with me to this day.

“In the short term it is often the environment that shapes the player… but in the long run it is the players that shape the environment.” Words to live by.

I just love how enthusiastic Professor Strogatz was on seeing Professor Axelrod, like they were two good buddies

Sorry to post twice, BUT. . . another interesting thing is that you CAN take advantage of a 'nice' individual, but in dealing with the OVERALL population 'taking advantage' leads to LOSING. Part of the 'lesson' to learn is that you MUST retaliate when 'betrayed' but to OVER-retaliate leads to 'losing' when dealing with the entire population.

I wrote an essay for some social science class in college around 2008. We were asked to come up with a solution for the “war on terrorism”. Pretty easy ask of college freshmen. Anyway, my completely uneducated intuition told me to give an answer nearly identical to “we should be inclined to peace but retaliate quickly but not hold a grudge.” It’s interesting now to find out 16 years later that 1. That’s likely a hardwired response and 2. That maybe the praise from my social science professor was because he saw my answer resembled what game theory suggests is the best answer.

One of the rare videos that should literally be watched by everyone.

I think every parent should watch this. "Be nice, be forgiving, but not a pushover" is quite literally what I want my kids to grow up understanding. What a cool video

This should be primary tought in schools all over the world. This half an hour shows so much!

Amazing video, it’s honestly a beautiful thing to realize that literally just being a good person is good for yourself and those around you

This is the kind of Veritasium Video I have been craving for. The one video which can change my perspective and connecting something abstract like maths to real life philosophies and mathematically proving it. Truly fascinating.

“You don’t have to lose in order for me to win”. Enlightenment

Actually, this describes "Turn the other cheek" perfectly. Turning the other cheek does not mean "nice all the time", but rather "stand your ground". It is to endure, without succumbing to evil, or "nasty". "Turn the other cheek" is passive bravery.

Great video. First time on the channel but it's perfect. Sponsor message at the end is a big deal for me. Watched the ad instead of skipping it because it was in the beginning or the middle of the content I came for.

THIS IS AWESOME INFORMATION!! Imagine if everyone would understand that cooperating and being kind and forgiving pays off best for everyone...

I find this fascinating. It confirms one of my favorite quotes, "do unto others 20% better than you would expect them to do unto you, to correct for subjective error".

This video feels like enlightenment. ❤ So much learn in single video. Blessed to have found this channel.

This video got me hooked. What a wonderful storytelling. Kudos to the video editor and writers to make this beautiful video.