Tech WondersPlay

Mind-Bending Math & GamesGame Theory

Winning at Rock-Paper-Scissors

Humans are bad at being random, and a machine can exploit it

Rock-paper-scissors looks like pure luck. So how can a little program beat most people who play it?

You'll find out

  • The one way to play that can't lose
  • What winners and losers do next
  • How nine numbers can read your habits

Why it matters

Patterns you don't notice are patterns a machine can bet on, in games, passwords and anything you think is random.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 174 · Zone 20

Play this lesson

Free to play in your browser or on iPhone

More in this zone

  1. 172Network MathematicsThe Friendship ParadoxYour friends probably have more friends than you do
  2. 173Electric VehiclesBraking Into the BatteryElectric cars recharge a little every time they slow down
  3. 175Binary ComputingThe Vote From Outer SpaceA cosmic ray may have added 4,096 votes in a Belgian election
  4. 176Network PerformanceFast Internet, Slow PagesBandwidth isn't speed; round trips add up
  5. 177Game PhysicsWhy Characters Fall Through WallsGames check for collisions in snapshots, and fast things slip between them
  6. 178Classical CryptographyThe Enigma Machine158 quintillion settings, changed every single day
  7. 179CodebreakingBreaking EnigmaIt fell to habits, guesses and a room full of machines
  8. 180AlgorithmsGreedy ChangeAlways giving the biggest coin usually works, until it doesn't