Mind Performance Hacks

Hack #46. Find Dominant Strategies

Sometimes, you can find the best of all possible strategies in what is far from the best of all possible worlds.

Some situations in life are like games, and the mathematical discipline of game theory, which studies game strategies, can be applied to them.

In game theory, a dominant strategy is a plan that's better than all the other plans that you can choose, no matter what your opponents do. In other words, a dominant strategy is better than some courses of action in some of the possible situations, and never worse than other courses. Look for a dominant strategy before looking for any other kind of strategy.¹

In sequential games, such as chess or Go, players take turns. You consider your opponent's previous moves, look ahead to anticipate her best moves, and extrapolate to find the optimal move to counter her; the initiative then passes to your opponent, who does the same.

On the other hand, in simultaneous games, where players' moves are planned and are executed at the same time, seeking a dominant strategy is helpful. For example, in a presidential debate, you can only guess what your opponent will say and do. In such a situation, using a dominant strategy to know the best possible move regardless of your opponent's move, which you cannot know, is indispensable—if a dominant strategy exists.

In Action

On that world-famous cookery game show, Titanium Chef, the contestants are busy cooking on opposite sides of the room, and neither can see what ...