Difference between revisions of "601: Game Theory"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
 
The comic and title text is a direct reference to the movie WarGames. In the climax of the movie, a rogue AI is asked to play a nuclear attack scenario against itself rather than a human opponent. In the end it realizes that no strategy will work and reports "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?" In this comic, the AI which is asked to analyze love comes to the same conclusion. The title text indicates that also not playing means you fail at love.
 
The comic and title text is a direct reference to the movie WarGames. In the climax of the movie, a rogue AI is asked to play a nuclear attack scenario against itself rather than a human opponent. In the end it realizes that no strategy will work and reports "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?" In this comic, the AI which is asked to analyze love comes to the same conclusion. The title text indicates that also not playing means you fail at love.
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==Transcript==
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:[A man is sitting at a computer.  The text appearing is implied to be what he sees on the screen.]
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<PRE>A.I. Loaded
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>>> analyze love
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</pre>
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:[An hourglass appears over the computer.]
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:[The hourglass continues to display.]
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:Computer: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
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{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Revision as of 21:48, 23 August 2012

Game Theory
Wait, no, that one also loses. How about a nice game of chess?
Title text: Wait, no, that one also loses. How about a nice game of chess?

Explanation

The comic and title text is a direct reference to the movie WarGames. In the climax of the movie, a rogue AI is asked to play a nuclear attack scenario against itself rather than a human opponent. In the end it realizes that no strategy will work and reports "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?" In this comic, the AI which is asked to analyze love comes to the same conclusion. The title text indicates that also not playing means you fail at love.

Transcript

[A man is sitting at a computer. The text appearing is implied to be what he sees on the screen.]
A.I. Loaded
>>> analyze love
[An hourglass appears over the computer.]
[The hourglass continues to display.]
Computer: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.


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Discussion

WarGames is also referenced in the title text for http://xkcd.com/696 -- ‎Blagae (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Even lifelong marriages usually end in one spouse surviving the death of the other spouse which is often not a happy ending. The idea in the explanation "which initially could be expected to end happily for everyone involved" is based on the shortsightedness of the sophomoric. 162.158.122.120 17:51, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

game theory is also the name of a youtuber plushie fan (talk) 02:34, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

And? There are lots[citation needed] of youtubers, each with a name. Are you implying a direct causation of some kind? Of which manner? 172.71.122.124 10:27, 22 November 2023 (UTC)
well, game theory is a pretty popular youtuber! and it started 2 months after this comic was released, so im actually implying a causation in a way you probably weren't thinking of. plushie fan (talk) 14:24, 22 November 2023 (UTC)
It's exactly why I asked "Of which manner?", thinking it more somewhat more likely that they pinched from Randall than vice-versa. (But starting from the assumption that both are coincidental and separate distant descents from the original von Neuman and Morganstern workings.) As such, that information is exactly what you might have said originally. Good catch, then, possibly...
I of course must admit I've not heard of/noticed them. But then I don't try to keep up with any youtube channel that's not mainly covering space-tech/exploration or Dwarf Fortress, so "The Algorithm" probably doesn't think it worth popping anything from the noted account up for my attention. 172.69.43.139 22:52, 22 November 2023 (UTC)