Game Theory: Rock Paper Scissors

I came across a theory of Rock, Paper, Scissors I think it prudent to share.

  1. Rock: Power, brute force

    Littlefinger would own you at Rock Paper Scissors

    Weakness: dissolution of size and reduction of intensity.

  2. Paper: Money, covert force

    What happens to people who suddenly land a windfall

    Weakness: flexible personalized trickery to impose harsh limits on their gains.

  3. Scissors: Intellect, adaptive force

    Cutting remarks are the forte of the intellectual badass

    Weakness: arrogance of believing a quick cognitive reflex compensates for a strong standing or presence where physical limits are imposed.

This analysis of weaknesses explains the puzzled reaction to the rule that Paper beats Rock. Ideas carry a power all their own and the fractional fiat currency is a very big idea, isn’t it?

I could take the easy route and spout platitudes over old misquoted sayings… For the record, it is absolute power that corrupts absolutely, the love of money (above virtue) which is the Biblical root of all evil and there are no good quotes about intellect which don’t end in accusations of madness. Sherlock Holmes’ “I am a brain” is the closest, purist quote in circulation.

You could read into which is better but it depends largely on the cause of the problem and one’s personal strengths in approach. Intelligent people develop their minds at the expense of other abilities, powerful people develop into tyrannical brutes if given all they desire and we know the ways having money and holding it for a legacy can go wrong by idiom. Truth be told, there is a place for them all, and the wise person would build a passing familiarity with their weakest techniques and least preferable tactics for the much the same reason we’ve each done fire drills in the early hours.

Games are generally an exertion of adversarial forces intended to mimic war. Hence, chess is considered the Ultimate Game. It is deceptively simple, compared to point-and-press FPS fantasylands with unlimited ammo. If you lose your King, game over.

I like the idea of apparently ‘nice’ child games like RPS containing hidden significance.