CCLIX – Infinite Games

I heard a talk recently that introduced a game theory concept to me, and it is tangent to a lot of things I like to talk about here on this blog and think about in my brain so you’re getting a post on it whether you like it or not.

The concept is Finite and Infinite games. A Finite game is a game with discrete rules, discrete winning conditions, which all players know about, and which all players agree to. Baseball is a finite game, Scrabble is a finite game. An Infinite game is a game without discrete rules, and no winning conditions; the key is to keep the game going. In an infinite game, you only lose by dropping out. If there is a winner at all, it’s the last one standing. The Cold War is an example of an infinite game.

The talk was in the context of business, and the speaker gave the example of contrasting Microsoft with Apple. The speaker was with an Apple executive and pulled out a handheld Microsoft device and said to them, “Hey, this product is way better than yours.” The executive turned to him and said “I’m sure it is” and that was that. The speaker supposed that if he were to do the same thing with an Apple product to a Microsoft executive, the Microsoft exec would scramble a team to inspect and look at it and figure out what works and what doesn’t. Microsoft plays a finite game–product vs product competition; Apple plays an infinite game–they are in the business of long term survival not product to product competition.

This concept struck me because it has applications in many aspects of our lives. Are you trying to be healthy? Don’t play the finite game (short term results) but play the infinite game (the only losing move is to stop playing). Are you trying to boost your career? Don’t compete with your colleagues, but make yourself indispensable.

Jordan Peterson had a separate and unrelated talk I saw but which I felt applied. He said taking the long view allows you to see yourself as a community of persons rather than just you. Every moment of your future is a version of you–what can you do to make that community appreciate your present self? If you think in terms of “win now” then you’ll sacrifice, you’ll take from your community of selves; if you think in the long term then their success in the future can come at your present expense now; and your goal becomes to set them up for success rather than yourself. The best way to keep playing is to incentivize people to keep playing with you.

What about Faith? Is Faith an infinite game or a finite game? It’s certainly not a finite game, insofar as there is not a winning condition. But there kind of is–Heaven. We can’t keep the game going forever, there is a finite end. We also know the rules. We can’t keep the game going, but we can at least keep playing for our entire lives. We aren’t competing against anyone but ourselves.

An incomplete thought for now but I think I will be referring back to this idea.

AMDG