1 February 2015

The Scientific Way To Win Every Game Of Rock-Paper-Scissors

[Click here to view the video in this article]







Did you think that winning a game of rock-paper-scissors is just based on luck? To help you get better at this game, Hannah Fry of Numberphile explains how game theory can increase your chances of winning every time.



Website Numberphile recently made a video based on the research by scientists in China, which drew from experiments with 360 students playing 300 rounds of Rock-Paper-Scissors that lasted two hours—the paper raised two main findings about human’s “predictable irrational” behavior.



One of them shows that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, which relates to how people who win often choose to repeat their strategy. For example if you won with ‘Rock’, you are more likely to pick ‘Rock’ again—on the other hand, losers almost always change their strategy.



In short, there are two principles to ensure victory almost every time. Firstly, if you lose, play what wasn’t played in the next round. And if you won, play what your opponent just played.



For a more detailed explanation, watch the video below.



























[via Laughing Squid]