Thomas Schelling

Thomas Schelling (1921–2016) won the Nobel Prize in Economics for work on conflict and cooperation. His insight: much of strategic interaction isn’t about outthinking opponents — it’s about finding ways to coordinate when communication is impossible.

He proposed focal points (now called Schelling points): solutions that stand out as obvious to both parties. Asked to meet a stranger in New York with no prior arrangement, most people say “noon at Grand Central.” The clock, the time — they’re salient, so they become the answer.

This explains how conventions emerge without design. Which side of the road do we drive on? It doesn’t matter which, as long as we converge. The Schelling point is whatever makes itself obvious.

His work illuminated nuclear deterrence, segregation dynamics, and the strange rationality of self-binding commitments.

Related: [[schelling-points]], [[game-theory]], [[nash-equilibrium]], [[emergence]]