Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas · Sean Carroll
Kevin Zollman on Game Theory, Signals, and Meaning
December 1, 2025·1 hr 18 min·5 clips
Game theory studies social interaction across the entire biological kingdom, from humans down to single-celled organisms.
As heard by us
Game theory maps ordinary interactions, then tests them against repeated play and messy real life.
It opens with the everyday sense that an interaction can go well or badly, then broadens that idea across animals, plants, genes, companies, and countries. From there, it turns to the prisoner's dilemma and the repeated-play wrinkle that makes tit for tat worth taking seriously.
Why you'd press play
If you like games where the rules sound simple but the incentives get stubborn fast, this is your hour.
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