Finite and infinite games
Countless readers have been hooked by the opening line of James P. Carse’s FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES— “There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other, infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.” Readers become rereaders; the tiny book rewards close study. I used Carse’s ideas for the concluding chapter of my own book on long-term thinking.
Meanwhile we seem to be flirting these days with the prospect of a global religious war.
“War is the ultimate finite game. Religion is the ultimate infinite game,” said Jim Carse last night…
Read the rest of Stewart Brand’s Summary
