Obviously, people are not always optimally strategic, or even rational at all. But I think it’s a good approach to life to give other people some credit instead of treating them as nonplayer characters, or NPCs, the video-game term for filler characters who have no agency of their own and whose behavior is simple and predetermined. I think of game theory like Frank Sinatra thinks of New York City: “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” If you can compete against people performing at their best, you’re going to be a winner in almost any game you play. But if you build a strategy
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