Stickman Charles Zero-Sum Games 零和博弈
Zero-Sum Games
2026/6/1 GMT-4
Hello, I am Stickman Charles.
What is a zero-sum game?
A zero-sum game is a framework where one participant’s gain is exactly equal to another participant’s loss. If there is a game where winning earns you one apple, then my loss means I lose that same apple. One side gains, the other loses, and the total sum remains zero.
In this sense, many competitive systems behave like zero-sum games. There is only one first place in a math competition. There is only a limited number of promotions or salary increases in a workplace—if someone gets it, others do not.
Why are zero-sum games so common?
We often hear that happiness is not absolute, but comparative. One reason for this may be evolutionary: for most of human history, resources were scarce. If you ate, someone else went without. That logic of scarcity became embedded in how we perceive competition.
In modern society, many systems are still constrained—not by physical resources, but by attention. Organizations, companies, and institutions cannot continuously evaluate everyone in depth. They rely on standardized, quantifiable signals to judge value. Exams like Gaokao or the SAT are essentially products of this constraint: a simplified way to rank people under limited evaluative capacity.
So the structure is still scarcity, only shifted from material resources to attention and evaluation bandwidth.
Do you like playing zero-sum games?
When people think about exams or promotions, they often imagine competition, comparison, and psychological fatigue. This is not an individual flaw—it is a property of the system itself.
In a zero-sum environment, total gains are fixed. No matter how much effort you put in, someone else’s gain often implies your loss. Some people enjoy the feeling of winning—it feels energizing, almost like a stimulant. But like any stimulant, it comes with side effects: exhaustion, anxiety, and the awareness that there is always someone better.
What if I don’t like zero-sum games?
The opposite of a zero-sum game is a positive-sum game.
A positive-sum game is where interaction creates additional value. You have an idea, I have an idea, and through exchange we both end up with more than we started with. The total value expands rather than being redistributed.
Positive-sum systems are less dramatic. They feel slower, less intense, but over time they tend to build more stable growth in both capability and mindset.
Can I avoid zero-sum games entirely?
Probably not.
Most systems still require you to pass through zero-sum filters before entering positive-sum spaces. Applications to universities or jobs are examples: they function as gate mechanisms that test and rank value before granting access to collaborative environments.
Instead of rejecting this reality, it is more useful to treat these zero-sum stages as entry tickets into broader positive-sum systems.
Ultimately, the most reliable strategy is to focus on internal progress—becoming slightly better than yesterday. That is the only compounding process that remains stable across both systems.
Thank you for reading. If you have thoughts or critiques about zero-sum games, feel free to reach out at charlesisworkinghard@gmail.com.
Keep thinking, and take care.
2026/6/1 GMT-4
你好，我是Stickman Charles
什么是零和博弈？
零和博弈，就是在一个固定框架内，一个参与者的收益，严格等于另一个（或其他所有）参与者的损失。有一个比赛，你赢了就能获得一个苹果，我输了就相当于失去了一个苹果，一正一负刚好为零。
数学竞赛的名次是固定的，只有一个第一名。升职加薪的职位只有一个，别人占了就轮不到自己。
为什么零和博弈这么常见？
我们都听过，人与人的幸福感不是体验来的，是比较出来的。原因之一是很久很久以前，人类的资源匮乏，连温饱都成问题，你吃了一顿，我就少了一顿，零和博弈就这样被刻在了基因里。
到了现代，很多时候受限于注意力，很多公司、机构这类需要验证你是否能提供价值的主体，无法长期、持续地关注一批甚至更多人。他们只能通过一些可以量化的，固定的手段来验证你创造价值的能力。高考、SAT本质上都是这个模式下的产物。这本质上还是一种资源不足，只不过从物质匮乏变成了注意力匮乏。
你爱玩零和博弈吗？
很多时候，一提到考试，晋升，大家脑子里想的都是勾心斗角，互相攀比，令人身心俱疲。这并不是个人的问题，是这个机制本身的特性。本来创造的价值总和就是0，努力再多意义也不大。有人说，可是我觉得把人打败的感觉很爽啊？我觉得零和博弈就像运动饮料，喝了之后会感觉很兴奋，很有能量。但是每当身心俱疲，失眠这种后遗症出现时，又让人痛苦不堪——人外有人，天外有天，没有人永远是第一。
我不爱玩零和博弈，我该怎么办？
站在零和博弈对立面的，是正和博弈。正和博弈就像你有一个想法，我也有一个想法，我们交流一下，彼此就有了两个想法，总量增加，相当于合作创造了更多价值。
正和博弈就像水，看起来很无聊，没有激情，但是长期坚持会让身体和心境越来越好。
我能只玩正和博弈吗？
你可能会观察到，生活中总是避不开零和博弈。与其抱怨，倒不如明白一个道理，如果想加入正和游戏，也需要先证明自己是能够产生价值的。
无论是申请大学，还是申请进入公司，本质上都是展示自己的价值，以便进入正和博弈。把这些必要的零和博弈当作门票吧！
不论怎样，关注自身，确保今天的自己比昨天的更好，就是最优解。
最后，感谢你的耐心。如果你有任何对于零和博弈的想法和建议，请通过charlesisworkinghard@gmail.com联系我，期待你的思考！
保持思考，保重。