Here’s a quick take on that piece.

What the article sets up (from the public preview)

• It frames life as a series of strategic interactions—“a push-and-pull of decisions and outcomes”—and argues game theory is a practical lens for choices in dating, work, and negotiations. It name-checks the 1983 Stanislav Petrov incident (a false nuclear alarm he chose not to escalate) as a high-stakes example of strategic judgment. Published Aug 26, 2025; ~18-min read. (Medium)
• For context on the Petrov story (often used in strategy essays): Petrov judged an alert to be a system error and likely averted nuclear retaliation on Sept 26, 1983. (Wikipedia)

Pocket guide: using game theory day-to-day

• Think in payoffs, not feelings: Map choices and likely responses; pick the move that maximizes your outcome given others’ incentives (this is the intuition behind Nash equilibrium). (Wikipedia)
• Start nice, mirror quickly: In repeated interactions, a simple Tit-for-Tat (cooperate first, then mirror) often performs well—useful for teamwork and vendor relationships. (heritage.umich.edu)
• Create common knowledge: Agree on defaults and “what happens if we can’t talk.” People often converge on Schelling (focal) points—use them to pre-coordinate. (Wikipedia)
• Commit (credibly): Reduce your own tempting bad options (deadlines, deposits, public promises) to change others’ incentives toward cooperation. (Standard strategic-commitment play rooted in non-cooperative game theory. ) (Wikipedia)
• Avoid one-shot traps: If someone treats a repeated relationship like a one-off (ghosting after a favor, hardball in a single deal), reset expectations or limit future exposure—repeated games reward reputation. (Wikipedia)
• Design the game, don’t just play it: Change rules/payoffs (e.g., bonus for shared success, clear service-level standards) so the cooperative outcome becomes each party’s best response. (Wikipedia)

If you want a deeper, line-by-line summary, paste the full text here (the Medium post is member-only outside the preview), and I’ll condense it into key ideas and a one-page cheat sheet. (Medium)