Why are Humans Competitive?
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What is the meaning of life, and how can you use applied game theory, gamer psychology, and puzzle-solving to not only survive but prosper
Q. Lewis, what is competition, what are the types of competition,
and what is the importance of competition?
A. Usually, the earliest children’s games involve building sandcastles at the beach, playing with invisible friends, or playing games like tag rock, paper scissors, or hopscotch. “‘Traditional’ games”, have, “not only failed to disappear but have evolved into new versions.” Many video games are based on simple ideas drawn from childhood games.
As simple games become more sophisticated they help children learn by example from other children, and can be played without reference to written rules. These games are usually played by those between the ages of 7 and 12, with some latitude on both ends of the age range. These games have been passed from child to child, generation to generation, and informally by word of mouth.
Examples of some of the most popular children’s games include apple bobbing, playing “catch” with a ball, Blind Man’s Bluff, Hopscotch, Doctor, House, Jumping Ropes, Play in a SandBox, Kick the Can, Marbles, Leapfrog, etc.
At a particular point in our mental, emotional, and physical development we begin to express the need to compete. Competition is, in general, a contest or rivalry between two or more organisms, animals, individuals, and economic or social groups. Soon after we learn to play games we learn about puzzles. We may begin with simple games like Candy Land and simple jigsaw picture puzzles. We eventually move on to more complex puzzles and, or games like tic-tac-toe, Monopoly, and chess. Some of these games involve just two players while others involve multiple players and even teams. It doesn’t take long before we realize that in some games everyone wins and in others, there are also losers.
A few years after we make this discovery one of the cruel realities of life takes place. Our parents often tell us that “it is time to stop playing games and get serious about life.” This is most unfortunate since it would have been better for us, them, and the world to have us continue playing games and becoming more skilled at strategizing as we played these games. Sadly, many of us move on in life getting jobs we do not love, working under incompetent management in layered corporate hierarchies. We become prisoners in a “life game” from which there seems no way to win.
We are trapped in the game of life even as we ironically continue to root for sports teams, play poker, watch Poker Championships and join On-line Fantasy Leagues. We go on vacations to Las Vegas and throw our money away on games of chance when if we knew how to apply game thinking we could win millions of dollars in a day. Given that we live in highly complex social environments, many of our most important decisions are made in the context of social interactions. Sadly, in spite of research showing over and over again that game thinking is one of the most effective ways to make good decisions we do not apply game thinking when making these decisions. Simple but sophisticated ideas drawn from game theory* have been used to study social decision-making in a laboratory setting. In addition, a variety of neuroscience methods has been used to probe the underlying neural systems that create these patterns. This approach is informing our knowledge of the neural mechanisms that support decisions about trust, reciprocity, altruism, fairness, revenge, social punishment, social norm conformity, social learning, and competition. Neural systems involved in reward/reinforcement, pain/punishment, mentalizing, delaying gratification, forgiveness, revenge and emotion regulation are commonly used for social decisions. Many scientists are now exploring the role of the prefrontal cortex in prudent social decision-making, at least when social environments are relatively stable. In addition, recent progress has been made in understanding the neural bases of individual variation in social decision-making.
Learn about the use of sports analytics as a competitive tool in Fantasy Football. This is a great way to use game theory to increase your income. Below is free information about a very low-cost, fact-based business opportunity using applied game theory and sports analytics to help you achieve financial freedom.
There are ways to apply game theory to different games spaces in effective ways – Here is how I use gamer psychology and game theory to create financial success. I invest a small amount of time and money in using sports analytics to predict winners and losers in Fantasy sports. This may not be your thing but if you like to integrate many approaches living well. Here is a link to a free video and information about Sports Betting and FIFA Fantasy Football. This is an introduction to one of my favorite systems. If you want to use predictive skills to explore this Complete Analytics-Driven Sports Fantasy Football and Sports Betting System. It’s based on the ideas presented in the book and movie Moneyball. Press on the URL below or the photo of the soccer players below.
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