Figuring Out What It Means To Win The Game Of Life

When, exactly, have we won the game of life?

That question is not philosophical nitpicking, but an essential one to answer if we are going to be any good at it. When playing a game, it helps to know its conditions for victory.

The first thing that comes to mind is that winning the game of life means achieving your goals. According to this view, the game of life a ‘closed game’.

For instance, in his book Principles, investor Ray Dalio argues that we can achieve anything that we want if we, first, understand how reality works and, then, manipulate it in the right way. He states:

“I believe that everything that happens comes about because of cause-effect relationships that repeat and evolve over time. By understanding these cause-effect relationships, you can come up with decision rules (or principles) for achieving what you want.”

On this picture, reality is nothing more than a bundle of if-then connections.

First, we figure out what this network looks like.

Second, we pick our goal — the ‘then’ we want to achieve.

Third, we consult the book of reality to see which ‘ifs’ cause this ‘then’.