Backward Induction: The Daily-Life Strategy We All Use Without Realizing
Did you know that you use backward induction almost every day without even realizing it? Whether it’s planning a trip, deciding how to approach a conversation, or even figuring out how to complete your tasks efficiently, you’re intuitively working backwards from your desired outcome. Despite being a core concept in economics and game theory, backward induction is something we all naturally employ. However, its technical label and association with complex theories often make it seem intimidating. Backward induction, at its core, is a method of reasoning backwards from the end goal to determine the best strategy at each step. In game theory, it’s used to solve sequential decision-making problems by analyzing each possible choice starting from the final move and moving toward the first. But you don’t need to be…