2025-06-15
Game TheoryPolitics+3
Why Governments Are Suboptimal Systems
And why real progress often feels impossible.
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Outcomes May Vary
How strategic thinking, human behavior, and invisible rules shape the games we play — and the lives we lead.
Game theory isn't just abstract math. It's a way of seeing how incentives, trust, and competition govern everyday life — from group chats to careers, from fairness to burnout. This series explores what happens when we treat life less like a ladder and more like a living game — one where outcomes shift depending on how we play.
AllStrategyIncentivesCompetitionCooperation
2025-06-10
Game TheorySignaling+2
Dating as a Signaling Game
From Tinder bios to first-date outfits — the information we (intentionally or not) transmit.
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Outcomes May Vary is an exploration of how game theory reveals the structures beneath our choices — and what it means to live inside systems built around incentives, strategy, and signaling. Each essay pairs a foundational concept from game theory with a relatable moment from daily life, tracing the quiet mechanics behind how we collaborate, compete, and adapt.
The series began as a personal reflection on why fairness feels expensive, why trust is fragile, and why we often act against our own short-term interests to protect something deeper. From the Prisoner's Dilemma to signaling games, from zero-sum mindsets to the long game of reputation, it unpacks the logic — and emotion — beneath human strategy.
New essays are published regularly. Each is grounded in metaphor, system design, and a warm, natural visual theme — offering a way to think more clearly about the lives we're building, and the games we may not know we're playing.