Why do competitors open their stores next to one another? - Jac de Haan
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN people use it as a clear, quick explanation of Nash equilibrium and why competitors cluster.
What it is
A short animated TED-Ed lesson in which two competing ice cream vendors on a beach illustrate why rival shops cluster together. It introduces game theory and the Nash equilibrium through the Hotelling model.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2015 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec Litost · 2015-05 · on “John and Alicia Nash, 1928,1933-2015”
I've only had a cursory introduction to Nash's work through brief flirtations with game theory, but this is the best explanation i've found so far on Nash's Equilibrium which i still remember vividly for highlighting why a "Socially Optimal Solution" is pretty rare in real life [1] (apologies in advance to the ted-talk averse). Has anyone got any other good pointers to examples of his work? P.S. Can anyone recommend A Beautiful Mind, i'm kinda put off by the description in here which makes it sound very hollywoodised [2]? [1] - [this video] [2] - [LINK]
Strong rec tantalor · 2016-05 · on “A Renegade Muscles in on Mister Softee’s Turf”
Setting up shop directly next to your competitor is the best choice, i.e., Nash equilibrium. That's why all the gas stations and coffee shops cluster up instead of spreading out. For example, on a beach, you should expect 2 ice cream vendors to cluster in the exact middle rather than move closer to their respective territories. This video explains it perfectly: [this video]
Recommends asdf9240 · 2019-07 · on “How is China able to provide enough food to feed over 1B people?”
extrapolating a small sample size will probably produce unreliable results. also its possible that there are 3 sushi restaurants on the same street because of the Hotelling model of spatial location (good vid explaining that: [this video] )
Cites Litost · 2015-09 · on “Adblockers: The Only Way Out”
I'm thinking aloud and obviously taking a negative purist view here, but does anyone else wonder, if in 20-30 years, if civilisation has actually advanced any, if we'll look back at ads in the same way we now seem to be treating tobacco, sugar, alchol etc. etc. ie a poison, but in this case of the mind rather than the body [1] [2]? I mean all that mind bogglingly dark patterny/cynical gameplay we engage in everytime we watch one. And there's also all the negative, misery inducing, pressure when you realise, even if you sold the house and spent it all on plastic surgery you wouldn't be anywhere near as attractive or thin as the size zero model they've just tried to use to sell you the gadget
Cites musesum · 2023-03 · on “”
So, basically a Nash Equilibrium [1]. Am happy to mindlessly converge in most areas, leaving me free to focus on a single divergent opportunity. [1] [this video]
Cites Terr_ · 2025-03 · on “How one of the world’s major money laundering networks operates”
Some of it might be a competition thing, where clustering is a Nash Equilibrium to prevent the other guy from taking unclaimed territory/customers. [this video]