Great book. Being a military officer, I've read a lot of of books on Strategy. I think the book is misnamed, it is really a primer on game theory. What is the difference between Game Theory and Strategy you ask? Game theory is primarily mathematical. It uses math to guide decision-making. If you have good data on probabilities of different courses of action or a reasonably bounded problem, game theory is extremely helpful. Strategy, as the book title suggests, is more of an art when you don't have a lot of data on probability. I found this book was really good when thinking through decisions a coach or manager would make in sports, such as when to go for two-points instead of one, how to decide which way to kick on a penalty kick. Some great insights here.
As an example, one of the insights from the book is that if your opponent would gain an advantage if they knew your course of action ahead of time, there is an advantage to you to include some level of randomness in your decision-making. It uses the example of a penalty kick in soccer. Even if you're better kicking to the right, if the goalkeeper knows ahead of time which way you will kick, your chances of scoring a goal will decrease. You can increase your chance of scoring by randomly deciding to kick to the left some percentage (here is where the math kicks in) even through you aren't as good kicking to the left. Same would apply to a football team on the goal line. Even if you are much better running the ball, you will have a better chance of scoring touchdowns if you throw the ball a certain percentage of the time. Again, the math proves this even if you aren't a believer.
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Reviews with images
The writers seem to view others as NPCs
In my opinion, this book is such a sad way to look at the world, I feel like the people who wrote it were AI. They seem to have no feelings toward others, only logical decisions about them and their behavior. Definitely will not be adopting that removed view of the world! However, it does provide a good strategy for decision making that can be useful in some situations! But I do feel like the delivery and stories were so boring and unrelated that it’s a great book to read before bed because it will knock you right out!That being said the book I received was in good condition. It did come with a Yugi-oh card in it, which I thought was funny.
Top reviews from other countries
William Queen
A complete explanation of game theory
Reviewed in Brazil on November 22, 2018
Zeno
Very interesting read, familiarity with the american system useful
Reviewed in Germany on May 23, 2020