# Relative vs absolute games Relative games are games where your success is relative to other people playing the game. Absolute games are games where your success is relative to some absolute metric. Circumnavigating the world, inventing information theory, and running a mile are all absolute games. Relative games can often have messed up feedback loops, and lead to [[Bullshit Ideas]]. However, relative games that are in direct competition against another human can actually lead to tight feedback loops and beneficially expose you to situations where you can’t make excuses. ### Related * [[You don’t get to choose the rules of an absolute game]] * [[carseFiniteInfiniteGames2012]] <!-- #mental-model --> [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Relative+vs+absolute+games) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Relative+vs+absolute+games)