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non-zero-sum games

English translation: win-win, both/all sides can derive some benefit

12:05 Aug 19, 2018
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
English term or phrase: non-zero-sum games
Hello everyone,

One of my favorite thinkers on this challenge is Eric Beinhocker, the executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford University and author of The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business and Society. In an interview, Beinhocker succinctly summarized the challenge be-fore us. He began by distinguishing between the evolution of “physical technologies”—stone tools, horse-drawn plows, microchips—and the evolution of “social technologies”—money, the rule of law, regulations, Henry Ford’s factory, the U.N.:

Social technologies are how we organize to capture the benefits of cooperation—***non-zero-sum games***. Physical technologies and social technologies coevolve. Physical technology innovations make new social technologies possible, like fossil fuel technologies made mass production possible, smartphones make the sharing economy possible. And vice versa, social technologies make new physical technologies possible—Steve Jobs couldn’t have made the smartphone without a global supply chain.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/non-zero-sum-ga...

non zero sum game

In game theory, situation where one decision maker's gain (or loss) does not necessarily result in the other decision makers' loss (or gain). In other words, where the winnings and losses of all players do not add up to zero and everyone can gain: a win-win game.

I have to admit I'm not sure what "non-zero sum game" means in the context above and how it's related to using the benefits of cooperation.

Thank you.
Mikhail Korolev
Local time: 05:55
Selected answer:win-win, both/all sides can derive some benefit
Explanation:
it's talking about co-operation and how one thing is co-evolving with another and this type of cooperation/co-develop,ment can forge new ideas/growth/technologies so that there3 are benefits on all side or to all stakeholders

so he gives examples how one thing or technology leads on to another and makes that possible
Physical technology innovations make new social technologies possible, like fossil fuel technologies made mass production possible, smartphones make the sharing economy possible. And vice versa, social technologies make new physical technologies possible—Steve Jobs couldn’t have made the smartphone without a global supply chain.

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Note added at 12 mins (2018-08-19 12:18:50 GMT)
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co-development (without comma of course)
so in the definition of the "non zero sum game"

"the winnings and losses of all players do not add up to zero and everyone can gain: a win-win game."

= everything feeds off and (in turn) feeds everything else in this type of co-development
e.g.
without fossil fuel technologies mass production would not have been possible,
smartphones make social technologies possible but without a social supply chain to begin with they might not have been invented.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 2 hrs (2018-08-20 14:30:26 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 03:55
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Gallagy.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4win-win, both/all sides can derive some benefit
Yvonne Gallagher
4there are more gains than losses
Oliver Simões


  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
there are more gains than losses


Explanation:
In my view, "benefits" is the key idea in the sentence. There are more gains (i.e. benefits) than losses in social technologies. Gains and losses don't add up to a zero-sum.

Oliver Simões
United States
Local time: 19:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
win-win, both/all sides can derive some benefit


Explanation:
it's talking about co-operation and how one thing is co-evolving with another and this type of cooperation/co-develop,ment can forge new ideas/growth/technologies so that there3 are benefits on all side or to all stakeholders

so he gives examples how one thing or technology leads on to another and makes that possible
Physical technology innovations make new social technologies possible, like fossil fuel technologies made mass production possible, smartphones make the sharing economy possible. And vice versa, social technologies make new physical technologies possible—Steve Jobs couldn’t have made the smartphone without a global supply chain.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2018-08-19 12:18:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

co-development (without comma of course)
so in the definition of the "non zero sum game"

"the winnings and losses of all players do not add up to zero and everyone can gain: a win-win game."

= everything feeds off and (in turn) feeds everything else in this type of co-development
e.g.
without fossil fuel technologies mass production would not have been possible,
smartphones make social technologies possible but without a social supply chain to begin with they might not have been invented.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 2 hrs (2018-08-20 14:30:26 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 03:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Gallagy.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: It's explained quite well in the text:
5 mins
  -> Thanks. Yes, I just added a note from the text
agree  Daryo: although due to human stupidity you also have situations where everyone is a loser ... the "non-zero sum" is not always positive - as it is in the example given - // it would be a "negative" sum - too long to list lots of real life sample ...
39 mins
  -> Thanks, but in that case (everyone a loser) it would be a "zero sum". Here it is NOT so there has to be gains
agree  Charles Davis
4 hrs
  -> Many thanks:-)
agree  David Hollywood
11 hrs
  -> Thanks:-)
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