Technologos comments on "Stuck In The Middle With Bruce" - Less Wrong

54 Post author: CronoDAS 09 April 2009 12:24AM

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Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 09 April 2009 02:36:30AM 1 point [-]

Slightly off topic, but I doubt Magic is especially good for teaching rationality compared to other board games. There are a lot of games besides Magic and Poker that are about decision-making under uncertainty, although most aren't nearly as popular. One way to measure ones progress in rationality might be to play a wide variety of these games and keep track of one's win/loss record.

Comment author: Technologos 09 April 2009 02:42:42AM 1 point [-]

Perhaps true, but I agree with CronoDAS that a key strength of Magic is that your uncertainty isn't just statistical in the sense of "which cards am I going to get" but structural, in the sense of "can I understand the rules in a way that other people haven't thought of in order to get an advantage."

I once was in a small Magic tournament where I came in the top 4 almost entirely on the basis of my knowledge of the rules; I had far fewer cards to choose from than some of the other players, so I should otherwise have been at a substantial disadvantage.