The art of war game theory

Game theory is the science of strategy. Death is the great and terrifying unknown, awaiting us all at the end of this life. Giving it a personality makes it easier to gaze upon. Strange Maps. Maps can do more than show us places. They also can help determined people find others long lost, whether birth mothers or fugitive killers.

Maybe the other player would rather see their opponent suffer even if it means taking a massive loss to themselves. This world of decision making is based on our real-world where things are too complicated and quick changing to be modeled with mathematical accuracy.

On the flip side, game theory is restricted to the world of numbers and precision. It is best applied when there is a game with common rules and an obvious goal, even if that game has some level of incomplete information. This article, although short, helps compare these 2 legendary decision models and shows just how much they overlap while being so different.

This leads me to the title of this post, theory vs practicality. I grew up reading a lot of Chinese historical novels on wars and domination like Romance of the Three Kingdoms. They are not exactly based on history because it tells the story in more of a literary approach.

However, there is one thing in common that is really fascinating. A battle that could change the flow of the war.

Even thought it was written in such an ancient time, the ideas are still being used by people on politics, finance, business, and so on.

Nevertheless, to what extend did Sun Tzu anticipated the implications of the contemporary theory of conflict — the game theory.

The essay claimed that he could be credited with having anticipated the concepts of dominant and mixed strategies. However, he failed to intuit the full implications of the notion of equilibrium strategies. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. If your enemy knows the same theory, what decision shall you make then?