Game theory and Nash equilibrium in dating

I don’t often have repeat guests on How To Fail but Mo Gawdat is the exception. When he first came on this podcast in 2019, he fundamentally changed my mindset and my approach to life.

Back then, he was on a mission to make 1 billion people happier. Now, he returns to focus his brilliant philosophical and analytical brain to the perpetual human question: how to find true love, then nurture and sustain it.

He joins me to discuss the three most frequent mistakes we make in love - and to explain how AI could be the saving of us. Mo is about to launch a game-changing AI-powered app called Emma that promises to help us all navigate the dating game with compassion and insight. This is the first time Mo has spoken in depth about this revolutionary new app so, yes, that IS a How To Fail exclusive, no biggie.

✨ IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Introduction

04:29 Personal Growth and Relationships

05:40 Heartbreak and Grief

10:03 Reflections on Love and Breakups

18:12 The Complexity of Modern Dating

21:45 Introducing Emma: The AI for True Love

29:53 The Mathematics of Dating

30:33 The Law of Large Numbers in Love

32:54 Dating Fatigue and Its Consequences

33:39 Game Theory in Relationships

36:52 AI's Role in Modern Relationships

39:15 The Economics of Love and Relationships

47:52 Finding Contentment Amidst Global Chaos

💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

Heartbreak is very similar to a terminal diagnosis, followed by grief.

Falling in love is very easy. The trick is how realistic are you about falling in love with the right person?

When you go on a date with a mindset that says “It's not going to work”, it's definitely not going to work.

🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:

Check out Mo Gawdat’s new relationship app: emma.love

Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content

Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/

📚 WANT MORE?

Mo Gawdat - his first appearance on How to Fail (in 2019!) sparked infinite chatter in the HTF space, covering grief, finding happiness and how to cope with a breakup https://link.chtbl.com/fnA5IzTi

Alain de Botton - reflects on how to stay human during a crisis, embracing vulnerability, acknowledging grief without comparing pain and “turning on the light” in your fears so they lose their power https://link.chtbl.com/RBaS4VUy

Stephen Grosz - argues that real love causes suffering and embracing those painful failures helps us grow, surrender (not submit) in relationships and see ourselves and others more clearly swap.fm/l/1XYvcQR4PRi06YpBC3RA

💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?

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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan

Engineer: Matias Torres

Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali

Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

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