Simulating the Evolution of Rock, Paper, Scissors

Source and further reading on the common side-blotched lizard:
Sinervo, B.; C.M. Lively (1996). "The rock–paper–scissors game and the evolution of alternative male strategies". Nature. 380 (6571): 240–243.

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[salxrn]

key takeaway from this video: the best strategy in life is to do random stuff and hope it works

[Jocaolinita]

as a geologist, you see these ternary plots literally everywhere in literature

[theMuBot]

When I learned about side-blotched lizards, one of my first thoughts was "this sounds more like a Primer video than a real organism."

[cobytang]

"0:04 If you're unfamiliar with Rock, paper, scissors" What are the things that people who don't know rock, paper, scissors have been living under??? It's certainly not rocks.

[Laynes_FYLA]

5:33 "Let's actually skip drawing the blobs"
Me: 🥺
5:36 "Okay, still some blobs"
Me: 😊

[zeldaking]

For the last part the saying "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but still often better than a master of one." rings very true

[palipanda]

13:05 "I was confused in front of ALL twenty people who were watching"
You're a gem, mate! hahaha

[iekquky]

I think the blobs would make perfect stress balls, can that be a thing?

[luigiawesome]

"Okay, maybe some blobs" and then there's 3 blobs (the blobs are really cute by the way) just kind of sitting there, relaxing.

[genius]

When are we getting the sequel with Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock?

[SamuraiPipotchi]

Something about the phrase "If you want to use fancy words, which I do" just felt so relatable to me

[xemp]

Who said we dont use rock paper scissors to compete for food in nature? Thats like the most common method seen in my school cafeteria

[bn]

the brown blob waving at the end was so cute my heart melted

[Frimpa-MJEB]

Today I learned normal type pokemons can be useful

[MrJdubs]

This is also a perfect example of analyzing eigenvalues to evaluate stability of a system. Assessing your matrix (with all values subtracted by 1 to make the matrix a proper system of ODEs that tracks *changes* in population) pre- vs. post-tie punishment, you can see that the real eigenvalues go from 0 to negative, which indicates a shift from unstable (spiraling towards and around the edges forever) to stable (spiraling towards the center and staying there). Though, for the 0 eigenvalue case, a perfect system maybe should have forever spiraled around the middle of the triangle without reaching the edges. I think the introduction of noise and random fluctuations makes the system less stable, spiraling outwards instead. Thanks for a cool video!

[jonarbuckle]

I would add in behaviors to each one. Rock could play it safe only playing against those who have 1 or less paper choices at a penalty to its food intake, paper could go for food above all else searching specifically for wins and ties, and scissors could play aggressive seeking out the nearest opponent no matter what they throw. Id love to see that simulation.

[Pridestein]

I've been waiting for this moment for years... a new Primer video on Rock Paper Scissors of all things! Love it!
One thing I'm especially interested in is if more gestures were added. Imagine Lizard or Spock in blob form!

[kennyholmes]

Fun fact, the "brown" strategy is actually an evolutionarily stable strategy specifically because it is a Generalist one that can take control of all the niches when they pop up! Abundance of Scissors? Generalists have the tools to exploit them by going Rock. Abundance of Paper? Generalists can hit them with Scissors pretty much immediately. Abundance of Rock? Paper usage wallops them back down from the Generalists. They win out because they are prepared for any situation, and as a result, can win in any situation.

[juliadavies]

0:09 Not for some reason! paper beats rock because it used to be cloth. the same cloth which flung stones from slings, stayed stones as embroidery, and dragged heavy stones in a process called heaving.

[DanielGrydin]

warning at 1:10, almost got hit by a rock, barely dodged