zero-sum

1. not comparablecomputingOf a system, where all gains are offset by exactly equal losses.

   When disorder reigns, humanity tends toward an extraction system. This kind of existence is one of low trust and zero-sum, where people are replaceable, the past is overlooked, and those who react quickly prevail.

   2026 January 22, “The Myth that the World rewards Talent (or why current systems punish Virtue)”, in An Actor Explains, via Substack, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2026

   1 more example

   Dalio is right, but somewhat self-serving. If hedge-fund managers are playing a zero-sum game, what is their social utility? […] Can it really be in America’s interest to have so much of its young talent playing a zero-sum game?

   2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN

plural zero-sums

1. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of zero-sum game, zero-sum situation, etc.