Happy New Year, everyone; 2026 has arrived, and so have the results of the Christmas Contest. We have two winners and two prizes. The participant who received the highest-valued presents will receive 40 Hive Power, and the participant who gave away the highest-valued presents will receive 20 Hive Power.

Winner Determined in This Video

How Is the Game Played?

For the benefit of those who did not enter, the Christmas contest required participants to choose a present for themselves, for the participant who entered immediately before them, and for the participant who entered immediately after them. Each participant, in total, received 3 presents. They were given a choice of 12 boxes. Each box may or may not contain a present. The presents were assigned values. If the selected boxes contain these presents, the value of the present is awarded to the participant and contributes to determining if he or she has won the contest. A probability was assigned to each box to determine the likelihood that it contains a present. If the box does not contain a present, it is assumed to have no value.

This contest has two objectives. The first objective is to receive the highest value of presents (one from yourself and two from two other participants). This participant will win 40 Hive Power. The second objective is to give the highest value of presents (one to yourself and two to two other participants). This participant will win 20 Hive Power. These objectives are measured separately; thus, two participants can win Hive Power. The usual contest tiebreaker rules apply. If there is a tie, the participant who entered first wins.

This year is a little different. I have added a question, which is based on the content of my Sapien Loop books. If a participant answers this question correctly, the value of the prizes he or she gives to the other participants is doubled.

The contest post contains more information and can be accessed using the link below.

Results

It is now time to determine our Christmas winners.

First, I will give the answer to the bonus question. Hermon’s mother is Phallia. This is answer ‘c’. The answer can be found in Hermon’s character profile in the short stories and in Chapters 48 and 80 in the book ‘Frozen in Time’. Only @hatdogsensei and @tortangkahoy answered this question correctly.

Now onto the results. The GIF below captures the opening of the boxes from the video.

Opening the Boxes

Note: Results differ slightly, as the video was made with @hatdogsensei receiving Present 2 instead of Present 5. However, the outcome of the contest does not change.

With the boxes open, we can determine our lucky and partly skilful winners. The tables contain the boxes selected by the participants, the value received, and the value given.

Value Received and Given

The participant who received the highest value in presents is @sammywrite. @sammywrite received presents worth a total value of $1600 (Present 10 worth $200, Present 10 worth $200 × 2, and Present 12 worth $500 × 2).

The participant who gave away the highest value in presents was @hatdogsensei. @hatdogsensei gave away presents worth a total value of $1780 (Present 12 worth $500, Present 2 worth $440 × 2, and Present 10 worth $200 × 2). @hatdogsensei gave Present 10 to @sammywrite and answered the question correctly. This played a key role in the win. It’s a pity that @sammywrite responded by giving @hatdogsensei Grinch Present 5.

@sammywrite wins 40 Hive Power, and @hatdogsensei wins 20 Hive Power.

The Grinch List

This year we have three Grinches. As mentioned earlier, @sammywrite sabotaged @hatdogsensei with Grinch Present 5. Both @tortangkahoy and @longganisan gave away Grinch Present 5 to the participant that followed them. This seems to be a double tactical move. It reduces another participant’s chances of winning, and it discourages others from entering the contest, thus increasing the probability of winning. This could have also led to a retaliatory move from the next participant, who had no choice in accepting the Grinch present. This is the first year a Grinch has won. Mean tactics normally backfire, but when half the participants use them, the chances of a Grinch winning go up even if it’s not the best tactic.

Source: Bing Image Creator

The Sapien Loop Series

I am writing a trilogy of books titled Sapien Loop. The first in the series is Sapien Loop: End of an Era and the second is Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time. I published both of these books as ebooks on Amazon, and I have posted completed chapters to my @captainhive account. I anticipate publishing the third book in early 2027. I expect to title this book Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide. In 2025, I plan to write short stories about some of the characters and their adventures. I will post these to my @captainhive over the course of the year.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: End of an Era

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

This story is based six years after the original story. The Downs Region is still suffering from a serious health crisis caused by the contaminated water. The main characters are desperately trying to find a cure for the illness that has been caused by the water.

One of the main characters has discovered frozen humanoids in hidden chambers. It appears they have been frozen for a long time. These chambers connect to a vast network of tunnels. While exploring the tunnels, one of the frozen humanoids disappears. It appears he has been stolen.

The story takes a step back in time to tell the story of the frozen humanoids. How and why were they frozen? This part of the story also explains the fall of ancient Sapey and the birth of the Sapiens. Can those from the past be able to coexist with those from the present?

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

It is time to reveal the results for the 2025 Economics Challenge Series. All six challenges have been posted. Below are the links to these challenges.

• Challenge 1: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 2: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 5: Auction
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win

The challenge series has become an annual event held in July and August. The challenge series normally consists of seven challenges. This year because of some time constraints, it has been reduced to just 6.

The purpose of the challenge series is to enable participants to use their knowledge of basic economic concepts to help them to win. Concepts include demand and supply, game theory, expected value, and location theory.

The challenge series is set up to reward participation. The first 15 participants are upvoted, and the prize increases by 4 Hive Power with each participant until a maximum of 60 Hive Power is reached. There is also a prize for the overall winner. This prize increases by 1 Hive Power and can reach a maximum of 80 Hive Power. Potentially, a lot of Hive Power could be given away.

You can read about the challenge series in any of the challenge posts.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Auction Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner determined in this Video

What is the Auction Challenge?

The auction contest allows participants to bid on up to 5 of 12 items in an auction. The participant who bids the highest wins the item. Each item has a value. However, the values are not stated in the question. Instead, a range of values are stated. These values are generated using the Excel model shown in the video in this post. Participants should aim to win the items without bidding over their values. For example, if an item is valued at $80 and the winning bid is $60, the participant gains $20. The gains and losses made by each participant from their winning bids is summated. The participant who has gained the highest value is the winner. If two participants obtain the same value, the participant who entered first wins.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Auction Challenge

Table 1 contains the bids made by all participants and the winners of each auctioned item.

Table 1: Bids and Winners of Auctions

Note: Green highlighted boxes indicate winning bids, and red highlighted boxes indicate bids after the bid limit has been reached.

Of the 15 participants who entered, 7 won at least one auctioned item. @longannisan and @tortangkahoy won 3 items each, @micheal87 won 2 items, and @lee1938, @tht, @bereal47, and @hatdogsensei won 1 item each. Winning more items does not necessarily equate to obtaining the highest gain in value. The gains in value made per item won is critical in determining the overall winner.

Table 2 contains the values of each item (generated by the model) and the gains in value each participant made on their winning bids. Table 3 contains the overall gains in value made by each participant.

Table 2: Value of Items and Gains Made from Each Item

Table 3: Overall Gain in Value Made by Participants

Only one participant managed to achieve a positive value and that was @micheal87. @micheal87 achieved a positive value of 67. He obtained 34 from winning the first item and 33 from winning the fourth item.

Since a second and third place cannot be determined, the full 60 Hive power goes to @micheal87. @micheal87 also obtains 40 points from this challenge. No other will be given out.

Overall Series Score

After five challenges, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Challenge Tips and Analysis

This challenge relies mostly on luck, but there are some strategies that can increase your chances of winning. Here are a few.

• Look for items with a limited number of bids. You can be the last bidder for that item and know you will not be beaten.
• Look for items that have the highest bids below the average (expected value). For example, if an item has a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 150, the expected value is 100. If the highest bid is below 100, it is worth bidding on.
• Look for items with a large range. These items have the best chances of scoring big gains. However, they are also the riskiest. This matters less when there are a large number of participants.
• Entering late provides the best chance of winning auctions, but if there are many participants, there may not be any items worth bidding on. It is worth checking back in on the contest to monitor the number of entries and the items that still look worth bidding on.

The Sapien Loop Series

I am writing a trilogy of books titled Sapien Loop. The first in the series is Sapien Loop: End of an Era and the second is Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time. I published both of these books as ebooks on Amazon, and I have posted completed chapters to my @captainhive account. I anticipate publishing the third book in early 2027. I expect to title this book Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide. In 2025, I plan to write short stories about some of the characters and their adventures. I will post these to my @captainhive over the course of the year.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: End of an Era

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

This story is based six years after the original story. The Downs Region is still suffering from a serious health crisis caused by the contaminated water. The main characters are desperately trying to find a cure for the illness that has been caused by the water.

One of the main characters has discovered frozen humanoids in hidden chambers. It appears they have been frozen for a long time. These chambers connect to a vast network of tunnels. While exploring the tunnels, one of the frozen humanoids disappears. It appears he has been stolen.

The story takes a step back in time to tell the story of the frozen humanoids. How and why were they frozen? This part of the story also explains the fall of ancient Sapey and the birth of the Sapiens. Can those from the past be able to coexist with those from the present?

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

It is time to reveal the results for the 2025 Economics Challenge Series. All six challenges have been posted. Below are the links to these challenges.

• Challenge 1: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 2: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 5: Auction
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win

The challenge series has become an annual event held in July and August. The challenge series normally consists of seven challenges. This year because of some time constraints, it has been reduced to just 6.

The purpose of the challenge series is to enable participants to use their knowledge of basic economic concepts to help them to win. Concepts include demand and supply, game theory, expected value, and location theory.

The challenge series is set up to reward participation. The first 15 participants are upvoted, and the prize increases by 4 Hive Power with each participant until a maximum of 60 Hive Power is reached. There is also a prize for the overall winner. This prize increases by 1 Hive Power and can reach a maximum of 80 Hive Power. Potentially, a lot of Hive Power could be given away.

You can read about the challenge series in any of the challenge posts.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Ice Cream Game Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video

What is the Ice Cream Game?

The Ice Cream Game requires participants to select a beach and then a location on that beach to set up an ice cream stand. The stand attracts customers based on its proximity to customers. The stand can only attract customers that do not need to pass another ice cream stand (competitor) to reach it. The ice creams sold by each stand are identical. Therefore, participants cannot compete on price or quality of product.

The objective of the game is to obtain the most customers. If two participants obtain the same number of customers, the participant who entered first wins.

Responses to the contest are made in the comments section of the post.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

Results of the Ice Cream Game Challenge

Table 1 contains the locations selected by each participant.

Table 1: Locations Selected by Participants

Note: Participants in red are not considered, as they have selected a location taken by another participant.

Table 2 contains the number of customers on each beach. This includes a basic number that would be attracted to the beach if there was one ice cream stand as well as additional customers attracted to the beach as the number of ice cream stands increases (5% increase per ice cream stand).

Table 2: Total Number of Customers for Each Beach

Note: Final values may exceed the maximum because the stated maximum does not include the increase in the number of customers caused by more ice cream stands on the beach.

The values used in Table 2 have been used to determine the number of customers the participants’ ice cream stand received based on their locations. See Table 3 for the results of this challenge.

Table 3: Number of Customers for Each Participant

As 17 participants entered this challenge, the maximum prize of 60 Hive Power can be won: 40 Hive Power for the winner and 20 Hive Power for second place.

Congratulations to @temple for winning the Ice Cream Game Challenge. He attracted 190 customers to his ice cream stand at West Beach. Second place goes to @urrirru for attracting 171 from North Beach. Third place goes to @hatdogsensei for attracting 168 customers from East Beach. @temple wins 40 Hive Power and 30 points. @urrirru wins 20 Hive Power and 20 points. @hatdogsensei wins 10 points.

Overall Series Score

After four challenges, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Tips for Future Ice Cream Games

The Ice Cream Game is considerably less complex than most of the other games in the Challenge Series. Participants should consider three important areas before selecting a location.

The expected number of customers for the beach. It is better to select a beach that attracts more customers in respect to its length. The mean number of customers is easy to calculate, as a uniform distribution is used. A higher mean is also likely to attract more ice cream stands. This will further increase the number of customers to the beach. However, this also increases the risk of being surrounded by other ice cream stands, thus limiting the number of customers.

The number of ice cream stands in close proximity. It is better to select a location that is not close to other ice cream stands. At the time of entry, this is difficult to determine, as a participant entering later could choose the location next to yours. To reduce the chances of this happening, it might be wise to select a location next to an undesirable location. The least desirable locations are the end locations. Therefore, the second-from-the-end location is likely to attract relatively more customers if the challenge has a high number of entries.

Timing of entry. Entering early has the advantage of winning tiebreakers, which is important in a game where many participants are likely to attract the same number of customers. However, entering early leaves the participant blind to the actions of others. It is possible that his or her location could become surrounded by later entries. Entering too late puts a participant at a disadvantage, as all the good locations have probably been taken. Entering reasonably early is likely to be better than entering very early (e.g., in the first three) or late (e.g., after the 10th). This timing of entry is most advantageous when there are few entries or when the actions of other participants are not strategic (e.g., selecting end locations).

The Sapien Loop Series

I am writing a trilogy of books titled Sapien Loop. The first in the series is Sapien Loop: End of an Era and the second is Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time. I published both of these books as ebooks on Amazon, and I have posted completed chapters to my @captainhive account. I anticipate publishing the third book in early 2027. I expect to title this book Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide. In 2025, I plan to write short stories about some of the characters and their adventures. I will post these to my @captainhive over the course of the year.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: End of an Era

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

This story is based six years after the original story. The Downs Region is still suffering from a serious health crisis caused by the contaminated water. The main characters are desperately trying to find a cure for the illness that has been caused by the water.

One of the main characters has discovered frozen humanoids in hidden chambers. It appears they have been frozen for a long time. These chambers connect to a vast network of tunnels. While exploring the tunnels, one of the frozen humanoids disappears. It appears he has been stolen.

The story takes a step back in time to tell the story of the frozen humanoids. How and why were they frozen? This part of the story also explains the fall of ancient Sapey and the birth of the Sapiens. Can those from the past be able to coexist with those from the present?

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

It is time to reveal the results for the 2025 Economics Challenge Series. All six challenges have been posted. Below are the links to these challenges.

• Challenge 1: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 2: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 5: Auction
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win

The challenge series has become an annual event held in July and August. The challenge series normally consists of seven challenges. This year because of some time constraints, it has been reduced to just 6.

The purpose of the challenge series is to enable participants to use their knowledge of basic economic concepts to help them to win. Concepts include demand and supply, game theory, expected value, and location theory.

The challenge series is set up to reward participation. The first 15 participants are upvoted, and the prize increases by 4 Hive Power with each participant until a maximum of 60 Hive Power is reached. There is also a prize for the overall winner. This prize increases by 1 Hive Power and can reach a maximum of 80 Hive Power. Potentially, a lot of Hive Power could be given away.

You can read about the challenge series in any of the challenge posts.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Pick-a-Door Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video?

What is the Pick-a-Door Challenge?

For the benefit of those who did not enter this challenge, here is a brief explanation of how the game works.

In this challenge, participants were required to make decisions based on expected payoff and risk. Participants were presented with 12 doors. Behind each door there could be a prize (expressed in dollars). Each door had a possible prize worth a different amount. As the value increased, the probability of the prize being behind the door decreased. For example, Door 3 had an 85% chance of a prize worth $28, and Door 7 had a 50% chance of a prize worth $78. If the prize is not there, the participant will receive a value of zero.

Opening a door cost $15; each participant was given a budget of $60. Therefore, each participant could open as many as 4 of the 12 doors. Participants were not compelled to use all of the budget. If a participant opens 2 or more doors that have zero value behind them, they are eliminated from the challenge. If not eliminated, the winner is the participant with the highest total value expressed in dollars (i.e., the combined value of prizes minus the cost of opening doors).

Responses to the challenge were made in the comments section of the challenge post. If several participants make the same profit, the person who entered (i.e., commented) first wins. The total prize for this challenge is equivalent to 4 times the number of participants (e.g., if the challenge has 9 participants, the prize will be 36 Hive Power (4 × 9)). The maximum prize for this challenge is 60 Hive Power. The winner receives 2/3 of the prize, and second place receives 1/3 of the prize. In addition to the winning prize, the first 12 entries are given upvotes.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Pick-a-Door Challenge

Table 1 contains the participants and the doors they selected.

Table 1: Doors Selected by Participants

Table 2 contains the potential prizes behind each door, the probability that the prize will be there, and the actual prize based on the Excel Model.

Table 2: Prizes Behind Each Door

Table 3 contains the prizes each participant won, the total value of prizes, the criterion of no more than one door with a value of zero (eliminated participant’s totals are in red font), and the Challenge winner (highlighted in red).

Table 3: Challenge Winner

Out of the 19 participants who entered, 9 were eliminated for opening more than one door with a zero value. Of the remaining 10 participants, @goshen obtained the highest total value. This amounted to $212. Three of the four doors opened had a positive value. This included Door 10, which had the highest value. @goshen wins 40 Hive and 40 points. In second place is @bereal47, who also selected three doors with positive values and managed to accumulate a total value of $192. @bereal47 wins 20 Hive and 15 points. In third place is @lee1938 with an accumulated value of $178 and is awarded 5 points.

None of the participants managed to open the combination of doors that would have achieved the highest possible total. This combination would have been Doors 4, 5, 6, and 10. This would have accumulated a total prize worth $310. @goshen was just one box away from obtaining this combination. The winning participants did very well. Selecting the optimal combination would have involved considerable luck.

Overall Series Score

After three challenges, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Challenge Tips and Analysis

This challenge relies very heavily on luck. Any of the doors could have prizes behind them. As more participants enter, the results depend even more greatly on luck. Even so, a good strategy could increase your chances of winning. It helps if participants have a good idea of the number of participants entering and the choices they have made. Therefore, entering late offers an advantage in that aspect. For example, if only two participants have entered. Participant 1 has decided to open only Door 1, and Participant 2 to only open Door 12. At this point, Participant 1 has an 88.2% chance of winning, Participant 2 only has a 10% chance of winning, and there is a 1.8% chance they will tie.

Participant 3 could choose to open just Door 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 to have a better chance of winning than either Participant 1 or 2. If Participant 3 knows no other participant will enter, opening Door 2 is the best option. Participant 3 would have over an 81% chance of winning, Participant 1 would only have around a 9% chance of winning (a very big drop), and Participant 2 would still have a 10% chance of winning. There would be less than a 1% chance of a tie. As more participants enter, the chances of winning from selecting high-percentage, low-payout options decrease significantly. Low-percentage, high-payout options may fall, but by a lower percentage.

For this challenge, there were a reasonably high number of participants (15). Selecting high payout options with maybe one low payout option would have been a good strategy. However, the rule of not opening more than one door without a prize increases the risk of selecting high payout options. This risk can be mitigated by selecting to open only three doors instead of four. For example, just opening Doors 3, 10, and 11. This would have obtained a score of 158. In this challenge, that participant would have been fifth.

The Sapien Loop Series

I am writing a trilogy of books titled Sapien Loop. The first in the series is Sapien Loop: End of an Era and the second is Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time. I published both of these books as ebooks on Amazon, and I have posted completed chapters to my @captainhive account. I anticipate publishing the third book in early 2027. I expect to title this book Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide. In 2025, I plan to write short stories about some of the characters and their adventures. I will post these to my @captainhive over the course of the year.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: End of an Era

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

This story is based six years after the original story. The Downs Region is still suffering from a serious health crisis caused by the contaminated water. The main characters are desperately trying to find a cure for the illness that has been caused by the water.

One of the main characters has discovered frozen humanoids in hidden chambers. It appears they have been frozen for a long time. These chambers connect to a vast network of tunnels. While exploring the tunnels, one of the frozen humanoids disappears. It appears he has been stolen.

The story takes a step back in time to tell the story of the frozen humanoids. How and why were they frozen? This part of the story also explains the fall of ancient Sapey and the birth of the Sapiens. Can those from the past be able to coexist with those from the present?

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

It is time to reveal the results for the 2025 Economics Challenge Series. All six challenges have been posted. Below are the links to these challenges.

• Challenge 1: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 2: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 5: Auction
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win

The challenge series has become an annual event held in July and August. The challenge series normally consists of seven challenges. This year because of some time constraints, it has been reduced to just 6.

The purpose of the challenge series is to enable participants to use their knowledge of basic economic concepts to help them to win. Concepts include demand and supply, game theory, expected value, and location theory.

The challenge series is set up to reward participation. The first 15 participants are upvoted, and the prize increases by 4 Hive Power with each participant until a maximum of 60 Hive Power is reached. There is also a prize for the overall winner. This prize increases by 1 Hive Power and can reach a maximum of 80 Hive Power. Potentially, a lot of Hive Power could be given away.

You can read about the challenge series in any of the challenge posts.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Buying and Selling Game Challenge, the second challenge in this year’s challenge series. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video

What is the Buying and Selling Game?

For the benefit of those who have not entered this challenge nor the previously held monthly contests, here is a brief explanation of how the challenge is played.

Participants are required to buy goods with an allocated amount of money. They are given a choice of 6 goods, and all these goods are available in any of the 5 towns and cities in the challenge. The buying prices of all goods are provided in the question.

The participants are then required to sell all of their goods at a later date at the same or different location. The selling prices for all goods in all towns and cities are not provided. Instead, the question provides a triangle distribution for the selling price of each good in each town and city. For the triangle distribution, the minimum, maximum, and mode values are provided.

The participant who has the highest profit after selling all of his or her goods is the winner.

Responses to the challenge are made in the comments section of the challenge post. If several participants make the same profit, the person who entered (commented) first wins. The total prize for this challenge could reach as high as 60 Hive Power. The number of participants determines the value of the prize. For every entry, the prize is increased by 4 Hive Power (e.g., if the challenge has 9 participants, the prize will be 36 Hive Power (4 × 9)). The winner will receive 2/3 of the prize, and second place will receive 1/3. In addition to the prize in Hive Power, the winner receives 30 points, second place 15 points, and third place 5 points; these points contribute to determining the overall challenge series winner. The most profitable buying and selling price combination is also calculated. If the prize is below 60 Hive Power and the winner adopts this strategy, he or she will receive an additional 5 Hive Power.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Buying and Selling Game Challenge

The prize for this challenge is 60 Hive Power, as there were more than 15 participants.

Table 1 contains the selling prices generated by the ‘Buying and Selling’ Game model for each type of bat, stick, and racket in each town or city.

Table 1: Selling Prices of All Exercise Equipment in Each Town or City

Table 2 contains responses and the profit made by each participant.

Table 2: Participant Responses and Profit

Note: players in red font have been disqualified for overspending.

The winner of the challenge is @tortangkahoy. @tortangkahoy wins 40 Hive Power (60 × 2/3) and 30 points. In second place is @emeka4. @emeka4 wins 20 Hive Power (60 × 1/3) and 15 points. In third place is @hatdogsensei, who is awarded 5 points.

@tortangkahoy won by buying 130 baseball bats for $17 in Roar Town for a total of $39,984. Then went on to sell the baseball bats in Bouncing Town for $25.05 each, earning a revenue of $635,943. Therefore, made a profit of $18,934 ($58,918 – $39,984).

Highest Possible Profit

An extra congratulation to @tortangkahoy for making the maximum profit possible for this challenge possible; see Table 3 below. You have won an extra 5 Hive Power.

Table 3: Lowest Buying Price and Highest Selling Price

Race to Become the Challenge Series Champion

After two challenges, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Tips for Future Games

To achieve the best chance of winning the game (i.e., earning the highest profit). Participants need to make the best use of the information they are given. The participant should buy from the place that sells the good at the lowest price and sell at the place that will offer the highest price.

To inform the decision further, participants should also consider the mean and median prices for each good in each place. The mean and median for a triangle distribution can be calculated using the following formulae:

Mean = (Minimum + Maximum + Mode)/3

Median when Mode ≥ (maximum – minimum)/2 (i.e., mode closer to maximum)
Minimum + (((maximum – minimum) × (mode – minimum))/2)^0.5

Median when Mode ≤ (maximum – minimum)/2 (i.e., mode closer to minimum)
Maximum - (((maximum – minimum) × (maximum – mode))/2)^0.5

Proof Median

The Sapien Loop Series

I am writing a trilogy of books titled Sapien Loop. The first in the series is Sapien Loop: End of an Era and the second is Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time. I published both of these books as ebooks on Amazon, and I have posted completed chapters to my @captainhive account. I anticipate publishing the third book in early 2027. I expect to title this book Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide. In 2025, I plan to write short stories about some of the characters and their adventures. I will post these to my @captainhive over the course of the year.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: End of an Era

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

This story is based six years after the original story. The Downs Region is still suffering from a serious health crisis caused by the contaminated water. The main characters are desperately trying to find a cure for the illness that has been caused by the water.

One of the main characters has discovered frozen humanoids in hidden chambers. It appears they have been frozen for a long time. These chambers connect to a vast network of tunnels. While exploring the tunnels, one of the frozen humanoids disappears. It appears he has been stolen.

The story takes a step back in time to tell the story of the frozen humanoids. How and why were they frozen? This part of the story also explains the fall of ancient Sapey and the birth of the Sapiens. Can those from the past be able to coexist with those from the present?

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025! To get this New Year off to a promising start, I would like to announce the winners of the Christmas contest. The winner who received the highest valued presents and the winner who gave the highest valued presents. In many ways, everyone is a winner because I upvoted all the participants' entry comments.

Winner Determined in This Video

How Is the Game Played?

For the benefit of those who did not enter, the Christmas contest required participants to choose a present for themselves, for the participant who entered immediately before them, and for the participant who entered immediately after them. Each participant, in total, received 3 presents. They were given a choice of 12 boxes. Each box may or may not contain a present. The presents were assigned values. If the selected boxes contain these presents, the value of the present is awarded to the participant and contributes to determining if he or she has won the contest. A probability was assigned to each box to determine the likelihood that it contains a present. If the box does not contain a present, it is assumed to have no value.

This contest has two objectives. The first objective is to receive the highest value of presents (one from yourself and two from two other participants). This participant will win 40 Hive Power. The second objective is to give the highest value of presents (one to yourself and two to two other participants). This participant will win 20 Hive Power. These objectives are measured separately; thus, two participants can win Hive Power. The usual contest tiebreaker rules apply. If there is a tie, the participant who entered first wins. The contest post contains more information and can be accessed using the link below.

Results

It is now time to determine our Christmas winners. The GIF below captures the opening of the boxes from the video.

Opening the Boxes

With the boxes open, we can determine our lucky and partly skilful winners. The tables contain the boxes selected by the participants, value received, and value given.

Value Received and Given

The participant who received the highest value in presents is @practicaleric. @practicaleric received presents worth a total value of $570 (Present 3 worth $210 both times and Present 11 worth $150).

The participant who gave away the highest value in presents was @nathen007. @nathen007 gave away presents worth a total value of $450 (Present 11 worth $150 each time). @nathen007 gave Present 11 to @practicaleric, which contributed to the win. Now that's the spirit of the game.

@practicaleric wins 40 Hive Power and @nathen007 wins 20 Hive Power.

The Grinch List

This year we have no grinches. Nobody gave away the dreaded Present 4. Oddly, two participants gave themselves Present 4. I guess they would rather not win, hahaha.

Contest Analysis

The results of this contest are based mostly on luck. There are many things beyond a participant’s control. These include the box opening and also the decisions made by the other participants. However, participants can increase their chances of winning through box selection and choosing to enter behind participants that give them the highest chances of winning.

Following a participant who was giving away relatively high-valued and high-probability presents, such as 1 or 11, would have been a sensible strategy. The participant should then give himself or herself that box as well. Selecting Present 11 worked out well. Unfortunately, Present 1 was empty.

Being the highest giver relies more on strategy than being the highest receiver. @nathan007 was the highest giver. There was an 80% chance he would obtain this value. Given the choices made by the other participants, there was almost a 50% chance he would be the highest giver.

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Loop

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

• Amazon USA
• Amazon UK
• Amazon Germany
• Amazon France
• Amazon Spain
• Amazon Italy
• Amazon Netherlands
• Amazon Japan
• Amazon Brazil
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon Mexico
• Amazon Australia
• Amazon India

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

Welcome to the Economics Challenge Series for 2024. For July and August, I am running an economics challenge series. The series consists of seven challenges. All the challenges will commence in July and early August. I will publish and announce the results in August.

Six of the seven challenges from last year's Challenge Series are returning. The Tax Game from 2022 is replacing the business version of the Buying and Selling Game. Below is the list of challenges.

• Challenge 1: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 2: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Complement vs. Substitute
• Challenge 5: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win
• Challenge 7: Tax Game

Each challenge could reward winners with as much as 60 Hive Power. The value of the prize will depend on the level of participation. For each new participant, the prize will increase by 5 Hive Power. This will continue until 60 Hive Power is reached (12 participants). The first 12 participants will also receive a 50% upvote from this account.

In addition to the prize money, the top few participants will be given points. These points will be used to determine the overall challenge series winner. This winner may receive as much as 80 Hive Power. The value of the prize will equal the sum of the number of participants across all challenges. This will continue until 80 Hive Power is reached.

For more information on the challenge series, I recommend that you read my post from last year. This year’s Challenge Series is run the same way as last year’s.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Tax Game Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video

What is the Tax Game Challenge?

For this challenge, participants are required to set the tax rate for a very small country. Tax has been simplified to just a percentage of overall income (i.e., no distinction between different taxes such as income tax, corporate tax, GST, etc.). The current tax rate and national income are provided in the question. The participants are required to set the tax rate yearly for the next 3 years (i.e., rate in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3). They can choose any tax rate they please (anywhere between 0% and 100%).

Changing the tax rate will have both benefits and costs. For example, lowering the tax rate will raise income, but if tax revenue falls as a result of a lower tax rate, there could be a social cost of reduced funding of services provided by the Government. However, social costs will be reduced in the following year, as it is assumed the market will partially adjust to lower or higher Government spending.

The winner will be the participant who achieves the highest total income across the three years minus social costs from changing the tax rate.

Responses to the challenge are made in the comments section of the challenge post. The total prize for this challenge could reach as high as 60 Hive. The number of participants determines the value of the prize. For every entry, the prize is increased by 5 Hive (e.g., if the challenge has 6 participants, the prize will be 30 Hive (5 × 6)) until a value of 60 Hive is reached. The winner will receive 2/3 of the prize, and second place will receive 1/3. The first 12 entries will be given upvotes. In addition to the winning prize, the first 12 entries are given upvotes. In addition to the prize in Hive, the winner receives 40 points, second place 20 points, and third place 10 points; these points contribute to determining the overall challenge series winner.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Tax Game Challenge

Table 1 contains the participants and the tax rates they proposed for the challenge.

Table 1: Participants and Their Proposed Tax Rates

The model generated three key parameters for determining income’s responsiveness to tax rate, the social cost of reducing funding for goods and services previously funded by Government (tax revenue reduction only), and the extent the market can compensate from reduced Government spending. Table 2 contains the parameters generated in the model.

Table 2: Model Generated Parameter Values

Note: These parameters have very little meaning without the formulae they are applied to. Refer back to the original question for more context.

The parameters were applied to the formulae stated in the question to determine income and social costs for each participant. Tables 3, 4, and 5 contain the income and social costs for each participant for each year. Table 5 also contains the totals and the winner of the challenge.

Table 3: Income and Social Costs Year 1

Table 4: Income and Social Costs Year 2

Table 5: Income and Social Costs Year 3, Totals, and Challenge Winner

Congratulations to @michael87 for winning the Tax Game Challenge with a total income minus net social cost of $1,579,106,427. @michael87 wins 40 Hive for this challenge (60 × 2/3) and 40 points. @stekene wins 20 Hive (60× 2/3) and 20 points for second place, and @emeka4 is awarded 10 points for third place.

Challenge Tips and Analysis

This is a difficult challenge to determine the exact tax rates to use. Participants could enter the formulae given into a spreadsheet to gauge what values give better results. This would be a time consuming exercise, and it is possible something could go wrong entering the formulae, variables, and parameters. Studying the figures provided in the question is an easier alternative approach.

The current tax rate of 45% is high and is stunting economic activity. Lowering the tax rate is the first logical approach. Lowering straight to a more desirable level (e.g., 20%+) will create an immediate social cost as tax revenue would fall quite sharply. Lowering tax revenue more gradually would be a better strategy. Several participants adopted such a strategy. @michael87 judged the optimal tax rate best out of the participants who chose to lower it. If the parameters had been different, a lower or higher tax rate could have offered better results. This is a game that involves skill but also requires some luck.

Overall Series Score

The Economics Challenge Series is over. The points can now be finalised, and a winner can be announced. Below is the final table.

The winner for the 2024 Economics Challenge Series is @emeka4. Well done on such an amazing performance. @emeka4 won two challenges, came second in one, and came third in another. As the total number of participants across all challenges was 78, @emeka4 has won 78 Hive Power. You will receive this 78 Hive Power on the September Hive Power Up Day (HPUD).

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Lopp

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

• Amazon USA
• Amazon UK
• Amazon Germany
• Amazon France
• Amazon Spain
• Amazon Italy
• Amazon Netherlands
• Amazon Japan
• Amazon Brazil
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon Mexico
• Amazon Australia
• Amazon India

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

Welcome to the Economics Challenge Series for 2024. For July and August, I am running an economics challenge series. The series consists of seven challenges. All the challenges will commence in July and early August. I will publish and announce the results in August.

Six of the seven challenges from last year's Challenge Series are returning. The Tax Game from 2022 is replacing the business version of the Buying and Selling Game. Below is the list of challenges.

• Challenge 1: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 2: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Complement vs. Substitute
• Challenge 5: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win
• Challenge 7: Tax Game

Each challenge could reward winners with as much as 60 Hive Power. The value of the prize will depend on the level of participation. For each new participant, the prize will increase by 5 Hive Power. This will continue until 60 Hive Power is reached (12 participants). The first 12 participants will also receive a 50% upvote from this account.

In addition to the prize money, the top few participants will be given points. These points will be used to determine the overall challenge series winner. This winner may receive as much as 80 Hive Power. The value of the prize will equal the sum of the number of participants across all challenges. This will continue until 80 Hive Power is reached.

For more information on the challenge series, I recommend that you read my post from last year. This year’s Challenge Series is run the same way as last year’s.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Buying and Selling Game Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video

What is the Buying and Selling Game?

For the benefit of those who have not entered this challenge nor the previously held monthly contests, here is a brief explanation of how the challenge is played.

Participants are required to buy goods with an allocated amount of money. They are given a choice of 6 goods, and all these goods are available on any of the 5 planets in the challenge. The buying prices of all goods are provided in the question.

The participants are then required to sell all of their goods at a later date at the same or different location. The selling prices for all goods on all planets are not provided. Instead, the question provides a triangle distribution for the selling price of each good on each planet. For the triangle distribution, the minimum, maximum, and mode values are provided.

The participant who has the highest profit after selling all of his or her goods is the winner.

Responses to the challenge are made in the comments section of the challenge post. If several participants make the same profit, the person who entered (commented) first wins. The total prize for this challenge could reach as high as 60 Hive Power. The number of participants determines the value of the prize. For every entry, the prize is increased by 5 Hive Power (e.g., if the challenge has 9 participants, the prize will be 45 Hive Power (5 × 9)). The winner will receive 2/3 of the prize, and second place will receive 1/3. In addition to the prize in Hive Power, the winner receives 30 points, second place 15 points, and third place 5 points; these points contribute to determining the overall challenge series winner. The most profitable buying and selling price combination is also calculated. If the prize is below 60 Hive Power and the winner adopts this strategy, he or she will receive an additional 5 Hive Power.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Buying and Selling Game Challenge

The prize for this challenge is 60 Hive Power as there were 12 participants.

Table 1 contains the selling prices generated by the ‘Buying and Selling’ Game model for each type of exercise equipment on each planet.

Table 1: Selling Prices of All Exercise Equipment on Each Planet

Table 2 contains responses and the profit made by each participant.

Table 2: Participant Responses and Profit

The winner of the challenge is @seki1. @seki1 wins 40 Hive Power (60 × 2/3) and 30 points. In second place is @emeka4. @emeka4 wins 20 Hive Power (60 × 1/3) and 15 points. In third place is @oskarl21, who is awarded 5 points.

@seki1 won by buying 130 treadmills, 259 rowing machines, and 200 all-in-one fitness machines for $780, $340, and $1500 each, respectively, on Fierce Planet for a total of $489,460. Then went on to sell the treadmills, rowing machines, and all-in-one fitness machines on Proud Planet for $932.28, $333.64, and $2,141.67 each, respectively, earning a revenue of $635,943. Therefore, made a profit of $146,483 ($635,943 – $489,460).

Highest Possible Profit

@seki1 did not manage to obtain the maximum possible profit. To maximise profits, a participant would have needed to buy 333 all-in-fitness machines from Fierce and then have sold them on Proud. This would have generated a profit of $213,676. This could have been boosted slightly higher by buying a couple of spin bikes.

Table 3: Lowest Buying Price and Highest Selling Price

Race to Become the Challenge Series Champion

After five challenges, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Tips for Future Games

To achieve the best chance of winning the game (i.e., earning the highest profit). Participants need to make the best use of the information they are given. The participant should buy from the place that sells the good at the lowest price and sell at the place that will offer the highest price.

To inform the decision further, participants should also consider the mean and median prices for each good in each place. The mean and median for a triangle distribution can be calculated using the following formulae:

Mean = (Minimum + Maximum + Mode)/3

Median when Mode ≥ (maximum – minimum)/2 (i.e., mode closer to maximum)
Minimum + (((maximum – minimum) × (mode – minimum))/2)^0.5

Median when Mode ≤ (maximum – minimum)/2 (i.e., mode closer to minimum)
Maximum - (((maximum – minimum) × (maximum – mode))/2)^0.5

Proof Median

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Lopp

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

• Amazon USA
• Amazon UK
• Amazon Germany
• Amazon France
• Amazon Spain
• Amazon Italy
• Amazon Netherlands
• Amazon Japan
• Amazon Brazil
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon Mexico
• Amazon Australia
• Amazon India

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

Welcome to the Economics Challenge Series for 2024. For July and August, I am running an economics challenge series. The series consists of seven challenges. All the challenges will commence in July and early August. I will publish and announce the results in August.

Six of the seven challenges from last year's Challenge Series are returning. The Tax Game from 2022 is replacing the business version of the Buying and Selling Game. Below is the list of challenges.

• Challenge 1: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 2: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Complement vs. Substitute
• Challenge 5: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win
• Challenge 7: Tax Game

Each challenge could reward winners with as much as 60 Hive Power. The value of the prize will depend on the level of participation. For each new participant, the prize will increase by 5 Hive Power. This will continue until 60 Hive Power is reached (12 participants). The first 12 participants will also receive a 50% upvote from this account.

In addition to the prize money, the top few participants will be given points. These points will be used to determine the overall challenge series winner. This winner may receive as much as 80 Hive Power. The value of the prize will equal the sum of the number of participants across all challenges. This will continue until 80 Hive Power is reached.

For more information on the challenge series, I recommend that you read my post from last year. This year’s Challenge Series is run the same way as last year’s.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Pick-a-Door Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video?

What is the Pick-a-Door Challenge?

For the benefit of those who did not enter this challenge, here is a brief explanation of how the game works.

In this challenge, participants were required to make decisions based on expected payoff and risk. Participants were presented with 12 doors. Behind each door there could be a prize (expressed in dollars). Each door had a possible prize worth a different amount. As the value increased, the probability of the prize being behind the door decreased. For example, Door 3 had an 84% chance of a prize worth $35, and Door 7 had a 50% chance of a prize worth $90. If the prize is not there, the participant will receive a value of zero.

Opening a door cost $20; each participant was given a budget of $80. Therefore, each participant could open as many as 4 of the 12 doors. Participants were not compelled to use all of the budget. If a participant opens 2 or more doors that have zero value behind them, they are eliminated from the challenge. If not eliminated, the winner is the participant with the highest total value expressed in dollars (i.e., combined value of prizes minus cost of opening doors).

Responses to the challenge were made in the comments section of the challenge post. If several participants make the same profit, the person who entered (i.e., commented) first wins. The total prize for this challenge is equivalent to 5 times the number of participants (e.g., if the challenge has 8 participants, the prize will be 40 Hive Power (5 × 8)). The maximum prize for this challenge is 60 Hive Power. The winner receives 2/3 of the prize, and second place receives 1/3 of the prize. In addition to the winning prize, the first 12 entries are given upvotes.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Pick-a-Door Challenge

Table 1 contains the participants and the doors they selected.

Table 1: Doors Selected by Participants

Table 2 contains the potential prizes behind each door, the probability that the prize will be there, and the actual prize based on the Excel Model.

Table 2: Prizes Behind Each Door

Table 3 contains the prizes each participant won, the total value of prizes, the criterion of no more than one door with a value of zero (eliminated participant’s totals are in red font), and the Challenge winner (highlighted in red).

Table 3: Challenge Winner

Out of the 12 participants who entered, 8 were eliminated for opening more than one door with a zero value. Of the remaining 4 participants, @emeka4 obtained the highest total value. This amounted to $224. All four doors opened had a positive value. This included doors with high values, such as 8 and 9. @emeka4 wins 40 Hive and 40 points. In second place is @theringmaster, who also selected four doors with positive values and managed to accumulate a total value of $221. @theringmaster wins 20 Hive and 15 points. In third place is @adese with an accumulated value of $124 and is awarded 5 points.

None of the participants managed to open the combination of doors that would have achieved the highest possible total. This combination would have been Doors 4, 8, 9, and 10. This would have accumulated a total prize worth $349. Both @emeka4 and @theringmaster were just one box away from obtaining this combination. The winning participants did very well. Selecting the optimal combination would have involved considerable luck.

Overall Series Score

After three challenges, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Challenge Tips and Analysis

This challenge relies very heavily on luck. Any of the doors could have prizes behind them. As more participants enter, the results depend even more greatly on luck. Even so, a good strategy could increase your chances of winning. It helps if participants have a good idea of the number of participants entering and the choices they have made. Therefore, entering late offers an advantage in that aspect. For example, if only two participants have entered. Participant 1 has decided to open only Door 1 and Participant 2 to only open Door 12. At this point, Participant 1 has an 84.48% chance of winning, Participant 2 only has a 12% chance of winning, and there is a 3.52% chance they will tie.

Participant 3 could choose to open just Door 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 to have a better chance of winning than either Participant 1 or 2. If Participant 3 knows no other participant will enter, opening Door 2 is the best option. Participant 3 would have over an 80% chance of winning, Participant 1 would only have around a 7% chance of winning (a very big drop), and Participant 2 would still have a 12% chance of winning. There would be less than a 1% chance of a tie. As more participants enter, the chances of winning from selecting high percentage low payout options decrease significantly. Low percentage high payout options may fall, but by a lower percentage.

For this challenge, there were a reasonably high number of participants (12). Selecting high payout options with maybe one low payout option would have been a good strategy. However, the rule of not opening more than one door without a prize increases the risk of selecting high payout options. This risk can be mitigated by selecting to open only three doors instead of four. For example, just opening Doors 4, 9, and 10. This would have obtained a score of 269. In this challenge, that participant would have won.

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Lopp

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

• Amazon USA
• Amazon UK
• Amazon Germany
• Amazon France
• Amazon Spain
• Amazon Italy
• Amazon Netherlands
• Amazon Japan
• Amazon Brazil
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon Mexico
• Amazon Australia
• Amazon India

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

Welcome to the Economics Challenge Series for 2024. For July and August, I am running an economics challenge series. The series consists of seven challenges. All the challenges will commence in July and early August. I will publish and announce the results in August.

Six of the seven challenges from last year's Challenge Series are returning. The Tax Game from 2022 is replacing the business version of the Buying and Selling Game. Below is the list of challenges.

• Challenge 1: Ice Cream Game
• Challenge 2: Game Theory Game
• Challenge 3: Pick-a-Door
• Challenge 4: Complement vs. Substitute
• Challenge 5: The Buying and Selling Game
• Challenge 6: Even-to-Win
• Challenge 7: Tax Game

Each challenge could reward winners with as much as 60 Hive Power. The value of the prize will depend on the level of participation. For each new participant, the prize will increase by 5 Hive Power. This will continue until 60 Hive Power is reached (12 participants). The first 12 participants will also receive a 50% upvote from this account.

In addition to the prize money, the top few participants will be given points. These points will be used to determine the overall challenge series winner. This winner may receive as much as 80 Hive Power. The value of the prize will equal the sum of the number of participants across all challenges. This will continue until 80 Hive Power is reached.

For more information on the challenge series, I recommend that you read my post from last year. This year’s Challenge Series is run the same way as last year’s.

Results

Welcome to the results post for the Ice Cream Game Challenge. This post contains the results as well as how they were generated using a Microsoft Excel model.

Winner Determined in this Video

What is the Ice Cream Game?

The Ice Cream Game requires participants to select a beach and then a location on that beach to set up an ice cream stand. The stand attracts customers based on its proximity to customers. The stand can only attract customers that do not need to pass another ice cream stand (competitor) to reach it. The ice creams sold by each stand are identical. Therefore, participants cannot compete on price or quality of product.

The objective of the game is to obtain the most customers. If two participants obtain the same number of customers, the participant who entered first wins.

Responses to the contest are made in the comments section of the post.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

Results of the Ice Cream Game Challenge

Table 1 contains the locations selected by each participant.

Table 1: Locations Selected by Participants

Note: Participants in red are not considered as they have either selected a location taken by another participant.

Table 2 contains the number of customers on each beach. This includes a basic number that would be attracted to the beach if there was one ice cream stand as well as additional customers attracted to the beach as the number of ice cream stands increases (2% increase per ice cream stand).

Table 2: Total Number of Customers for Each Beach

Note: Final values may exceed maximum because the stated maximum does not include the increase in the number of customers caused by more ice cream stands on the beach.

The values used in Table 2 have been used to determine the number of customers the participants’ ice cream stand received based on their locations. See Table 3 for the results of this challenge.

Table 3: Number of Customers for Each Participant

A total of 9 participants entered this challenge. Therefore, the prizes for this challenge amount to 45 Hive Power (9 × 5): 30 Hive Power for the winner and 15 Hive Power for second place.

Congratulations to @emeka4 for winning the Ice Cream Game Challenge. He attracted 891 customers to his ice cream stand at West Beach. Second place goes to @urrirru for attracting 614 from East Beach. Third place goes to @micheal87 for attracting 455 customers from South Beach. @emeka4 wins 30 Hive Power and 30 points. @urrirru wins 15 Hive Power and 20 points. @micheal87 wins 10 points.

Overall Series Score

After one challenge, the overall scores for the Challenge Series are as follows:

This table will be updated in every results post.

Tips for Future Ice Cream Games

The Ice Cream Game is considerably less complex than most of the other games in the Challenge Series. There are three important areas that participants should consider before selecting a location.

The expected number of customers for the beach. It is better to select a beach that attracts more customers in respect to its length. The mean number of customers is easy to calculate as a uniform distribution is used. A higher mean is also likely to attract more ice cream stands. This will further increase the number of customers to the beach. However, this also increases the risk of being surrounded by other ice cream stands, thus limiting the number of customers.

The number of ice cream stands in close proximity. It is better to select a location that is not close to other ice cream stands. At the time of entry, this is difficult to determine as a participant entering later could choose the location next to yours. To reduce the chances of this happening, it might be wise to select a location next to an undesirable location. The least desirable locations are the end locations. Therefore, the second from the end location is likely to attract relatively more customers if the challenge has a high number of entries.

Timing of entry. Entering early has the advantage of winning tiebreakers, which is important in a game where many participants are likely to attract the same number of customers. However, entering early leaves the participant blind to the actions of others. It is possible that his or her location could become surrounded by later entries. Entering too late puts a participant at a disadvantage as all the good locations have probably been taken. Entering reasonably early is likely to be better than entering very early (e.g. in the first three) or late (e.g. after the 10th). This timing of entry is most advantageous when there are few entries or when the actions of other participants are not strategic (e.g., selecting end locations).

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Lopp

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

• Amazon USA
• Amazon UK
• Amazon Germany
• Amazon France
• Amazon Spain
• Amazon Italy
• Amazon Netherlands
• Amazon Japan
• Amazon Brazil
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon Mexico
• Amazon Australia
• Amazon India

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive Blockchain

On Sunday, 21st April, my sister (@vegoutt-travel) and I presented at the Irish Vegan Festival in Belfast. This was our third time attending the event and our second time presenting. We presented for the first time in 2022.

Picking a Topic

Vegan events are typically attended by vegans. Most people become vegan because they believe in animal rights, and several others become vegan for a healthy lifestyle. Most of the presentations at the events are about animal cruelty or the benefits of a vegan diet. Most of the audience already understands these points; it is like preaching to the choir. Hence, they are vegan. Most of these types of presentations are more suited to non-vegan audiences.

I wanted to present something that is not talked about as much in vegan circles. Two years ago, I discussed people’s reasons for reducing meat consumption. This considered a broader group of people that also included vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, pescatarians, and flexitarians. Each group’s primary motivations varied. I discussed these using different surveys. What were the implications for meat and dairy consumption as well as the consumption of alternatives to meat and dairy?

The initial plan was to present at the festival in 2023. However, this was not to be. We did not end up with a time slot to present. However, we had already decided what to present. The presentation was to be based on a post I wrote in January 2023. This post was titled ‘Manipulated for Us’. The post discusses how we, as humans, manipulate the world around us for our own benefit. This post discussed how we change our natural landscape to build huge cities, use various resources to build literally everything we use. The post continues by explaining how we manipulate animals for our own benefit. This part of the post was going to be the focus of our presentation at the Vegan Festival.

A few months after the initial post, I also posted a video in my back garden. The video and post were titled ‘Manipulated for Us: Introducing Hamlet and Lily’. In this video, I provide a very off-the-cuff discussion about how animals are manipulated for us. I pay extra attention to Hamlet the Happy Pig and Lily Goat. This was also a full introduction video to these two amazing characters.

Content of the Video

Our presentation at the Vegan Festival was a combination of my post from a year earlier and the video I made with Hamlet and Lily. I included an additional section about plants. So many of our fruits have been manipulated to be bigger, or have fewer or no seeds. The bulk of my presentation was about how animals are manipulated through breeding to give us more of what we want. See examples below.

• Chickens are bred to grow faster and be bigger, as well as lay more eggs (approximately 20 times more than they would in the wild).
• Cattle are either bred to be bigger and more muscular for more meat or bred to produce more milk.
• Pigs are bred to be bigger for meat and smaller to be pets. They are sometimes bred for organ transplants for humans because they are so similar to us.
• Sheep are bred to grow more and thicker wool.
• Racehorses are bred to be stronger and faster to have more stamina.
• Dogs are bred for hundreds of different reasons. This type of breeding has produced weaknesses in most dog breeds.

My section of the presentation ended by asking what would happen to all these animals if people stopped killing them for meat or using them for other purposes. They already occupy an enormous amount of land. This amount of land is far less than they need to have a decent quality of life. Even if there was sufficient land for them, they are not capable of surviving in the wild. They have been altered so that they are dependent on us.

So what is next? I strongly disagree with culling. I believe the solution is to gradually bring down the numbers. Eventually, the remaining animals can be moved to sanctuaries. People could even have them on their properties if they have the right environment to cater to them. We owe them that much.

My sister took over the presentation. She talked about Hamlet the Happy Pig and Lily Goat. She described what they were like and what was needed to look after them. Taking care of a happy pig has its challenges. Looking after a goat is not so difficult.

She also discussed a former factory farm chicken named Black Betty. She had suffered greatly from the days when she laid an egg a day. After being brought out of that environment, she only laid one egg a month. She finished the presentation off with a discussion about our adopted dogs.

Our presentation lasted roughly around an hour. We both presented for about half an hour each.

References from the Video

1. AI Images of plastic surgery and designer babies generated by Bing AI
2. New York City skyline sourced from Istockphoto
3. Dubai floods sourced from Business Insider
4. Population growth figures sourced from The Industrial Revolution
5. Rural-urban migration figures sourced from Urbanet
6. Global GDP and GDP per capita sourced from Our World in Data
7. Minerals used in a lifetime sourced from USGS
8. Annual average food consumption sourced from FoodHow.com
9. Lifetime number of clothing items sourced from Huffington Post
10. Fruit comparisons sourced from Daily Mail and Inside the World of Cellular Biology
11. Animals and how people use them sourced from Wikipedia
12. Image of Indian Aurochs sourced from Wikipedia
13. Image of Wild Boar sourced from Wikipedia
14. Image of Mouflon sourced from Wikipedia
15. Image of Tarpan sourced from Wikipedia
16. Image of Red Jungle Fowl sourced from Wikipedia
17. Chicken sizes and Ross 308 Vox and United Poultry Concerns
18. US egg statistics sourced from United Egg Producers
19. Different breeds of cattle sourced from NayTurr
20. Image of Knickers the Steer sourced from The Verge
21. Beef production sourced from USDA
22. Milk yield per cow sourced from ResearchGate and Statista
23. Poland China pig image sourced from A to Z Animals
24. Picture of various pig sizes (Mini pig to Big Bill) sourced from Change.org petition on mini pigs
25. Picture of a variety of coloured pigs sourced from Radio IQ WVTF
26. Image of award winning giant pig sourced from Gardens Desigusxpro
27. Image of giant pig in china Daily Mail
28. Wild boar and domestic pig comparison sourced from A to Z Animails
29. Lesser beasts story (abusing pigs for profit) sourced from Business Insider
30. Genetic engineering of pigs sourced from MIT Technological Review, SingularityHub and Global reaserch
31. Image of Chris the sheep sourced from BuzzFeed News
32. Image of Baarack the sheep sourced from NDTV
33. Sheep breed information sourced from Sheep 201
34. Image of racehorse Black Caviar sourced from Wikipedia
35. Dog breeds and their health issues sourced from Fetch
36. Mammals and birds in captivity sourced from the Guardian
37. Number of animals killed every year Our World in Data
38. Video of annual animal deaths sourced Daily Loud X account. It was converted to a gif.
39. More information on the number of animals killed annually on Our World in Data and on another page on Our World in Data
40. Animal Kill Clock can be accessed at AnimalClock
41. Song: ‘Legend of Hamlet the Pig’ was created by Suno

Some Nice Food from the Event

Before we could do any of the above, we needed some delicious food. Here is a sample of what we ate.

My New Book, Sapien Loop

I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.

In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.

Brief Summary of Sapien Lopp

This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.

This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.

On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.

• Amazon USA
• Amazon UK
• Amazon Germany
• Amazon France
• Amazon Spain
• Amazon Italy
• Amazon Netherlands
• Amazon Japan
• Amazon Brazil
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon Mexico
• Amazon Australia
• Amazon India

I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive blockchain

Welcome to the first economics contest results post for 2023. Ironically, this will be the only economics contest result post for this year. Later this year, I will run the Economic Challenge Series. This series will last for two months and will consist of seven challenges. They will be similar to the contests and challenges I ran last year. Later this month, I will begin the Sapien Loop contest series. These contests will focus on the contents of my new book, Sapien Loop. The prize will still be 30 Hive Power.

Winner determined in this Video

What is the Auction Contest?

The auction contest allows participants to bid on up to 5 of 12 items in an auction. The participant who bids the highest wins the item. Each item has a value. However, the values are not stated in the question. Instead, a range of values are stated. These values are generated using the Excel model shown in the video in this post. Participants should aim to win the items without bidding over their values. For example, if an item is valued at $80 and the winning bid is $60, the participant gains $20. The gains and losses made by each participant from their winning bids is summated. The participant who has gained the highest value is the winner. If two participants obtain the same value, the participant who entered first wins. If nobody obtains a positive gain in value, the contest will not have a winner and the prize will be rolled over to the next contest.

Responses to the contest are made in the comments section of the contest post. The account with the winning entry will receive 30 Hive Power.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the challenge post using the following link.

Results of the Auction Contest

Table 1 contains the bids made by all participants and the winners of each auctioned item.

Table 1: Bids and winners of auctions

Note: Green font indicates winning bids, and red font indicates bids after the bid limit has been reached.

Of the 16 participants who entered, 6 won at least one auctioned item. @micheal87 won 4 items, @bhattg, @bereal47 and @stekene won 2 items each, and @yummycruz1 and @urrirru won 1 item each. Winning more items does not necessarily equate to obtaining the highest gain in value. The gains in value made per item won is critical in determining the overall winner.

Table 2 contains the values of each item (generated by the model) and the gains in value each participant made on their winning bids. Table 3 contains the overall gains in value made by each participant.

Table 2: Value of Items and Gains Made from Each Item

Table 3: Overall Gain in Value Made by Participants

Unfortunately, nobody won this contest. To win this contest, a participant needs to have the highest positive value. Everybody overbid on their auction wins. @urrirru came very close to winning with -0, which was actually -0.5 when considering rounding. If only you bid 776 instead. @stekene appeared to have a good strategy but was unlucky that the values of the items bid on were lower than expected.

Since nobody won, the 30 Hive Power will be rolled over to the next contest. This contest will contain questions about my new book. Therefore, that contest will have a winning prize of 60 Hive Power. If you want a big payday, I suggest you get reading.

Contest Tips and Analysis

This contest relies mostly on luck, but there are some strategies that can increase your chances of winning. Here are a few.

• Look for items with a limited number of bids. You can be the last bidder for that item and know you will not be beaten.
• Look for items that have the highest bids below the average (expected value). For example, if an item has a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 150, the expected value is 100. If the highest bid is below 100, it is worth bidding on.
• Look for items with a large range. These items have the best chances of scoring big gains. However, they are also the riskiest. This matters less when there are a large number of participants.
• Entering late provides the best chance of winning auctions, but if there are many participants, there may not be any items worth bidding on. It is worth checking back in on the contest to monitor the number of entries and the items that still look worth bidding on.

I hope the above tips help. The auction contest could be returning for the Challenge Series later in the year. Make better decisions next time; we need a winner.

More posts

I have several collections of posts. I have organised these collections based on content and purpose.

The first collection contains six collection posts created before PeakD had the collection feature. Four of these posts relate to the core of my content; one of them contains all my Actifit Posts, and one of them contains my video course, ‘Economics is Everyone’.

The second collection consists of the posts that I consider define my channel. These posts are significant in terms of content as well as how they contribute to the growth of the channel. These posts reveal the most about what I believe in.

The third and fourth collections are what I call my ‘Freedom-based Economics Living Book’. They contain all the posts that support my ideas about the value and power of freedom. Some of these posts explain what we can achieve with freedom and what we need to utilise it for. Some of them explain how we are deprived of freedom and how we often give up freedom for security and comfort. The third collection concludes with possible scenarios depending on what we (society) choose to do.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive blockchain

Happy New Year and welcome to 2024! To get this new year off to a hopeful start, I would like to announce the winners of the Christmas contest. Think of the contest and upvotes as the Christmas present, and the prizes as a new year’s gift and motivation to make 2024 a good year. Even if you did not win, take this as practice for the 10 monthly contests and the 7 challenges for 2024. That is 17 more opportunities to win in the next 12 months.

Winner determined in this video

How is the game played?

For the benefit of those who did not enter, the Christmas contest required participants to choose a present for themselves, for the participant who entered immediately before them, and for the participant who entered immediately after them. Each participant, in total, received 3 presents. They were given a choice of 12 boxes. Each box may or may not contain a present. These presents are assigned values. If the selected boxes contain these presents, the value of the present is awarded to the participant and contributes to determining if he or she has won the contest. A probability is assigned to each box to determine the likelihood that it contains a present.

This contest has two objectives. The first objective is to receive the highest value of presents (one from yourself and two from two other participants). This participant will win 25 Hive Power. The second objective is to give the highest value of presents (one to yourself and two to two other participants). This participant will win 15 Hive Power. These objectives are measured separately; thus, two participants can win Hive Power. The usual contest tie-breaker rules apply. If there is a tie, the participant who entered first wins. The contest post contains more information and can be accessed using the link below.

Results

It is now time to determine our Christmas winners. The Gif below captures the opening of the boxes from the video.

Opening the Boxes

With the boxes open, we can determine our lucky and partly skilful winners. The tables contain the boxes selected by the participants, value received, and value given.

Value Received and Given (Participants 1 to 12)

Value Received and Given (Participants 13 to 23)

The participant who received the highest value in presents, based on the tie-breaker rules, was @biyimi, who entered the contest 7th. @biyimi received presents worth a total value of $290 (Present 10 worth $200, and Present 11 worth $90). @coquicoin also received $290 worth of presents but entered 21st; therefore, lost the tie-breaker.

The participant who gave away the highest value in presents was @urrirru. @urrirru gave away presents worth a total value of $250 (Present 5 worth $50 and Present 10 worth $200). @urrirru gave Present 10 to @biyimi, which contributed to the win. Great Christmas gift indeed.

@biyimi wins 25 Hive Power and @urrirru wins 15 Hive Power.

The Grinch List

There were a few Grinches in this contest. I consider them Grinches because they choose to give away the horrid Present 6. Time to name and shame.

• @oskarl21
• @sirenahippie
• @melody27

Contest Analysis

The results of this contest are based mostly on luck. There are many things beyond a participant’s control. These include the box opening and also the decisions made by the other participants. However, participants can increase their chances of winning through box selection and choosing to enter behind participants that give them the highest chances of winning.

Following a participant who was giving away relatively high-valued and high-probability presents, such as 3 or 8 would have been a sensible strategy. The participant should then give himself or herself that box as well. @rigomohe may have had that strategy by selecting Present 3 after being given Present 3 by @coquicoin. Ironically, boxes for presents 3 and 8 were empty.

Giving away high-probability and reasonably high-valued presents, such as 1, 5, or 9, is a good a strategy as it reduces the chances of receiving bad presents from the following participant. Giving away the highest valued presents, such as 10 or 12, increases the participants chances of winning the highest giver award.

More posts

I have several collections of posts. I have organised these collections based on content and purpose.

The first collection contains six collection posts created before PeakD had the collection feature. Four of these posts relate to the core of my content; one of them contains all my Actifit Posts, and one of them contains my video course, ‘Economics is Everyone’.

The second collection consists of the posts that I consider define my channel. These posts are significant in terms of content as well as how they contribute to the growth of the channel. These posts reveal the most about what I believe in.

The third and fourth collection is what I call my ‘Freedom-based Economics living book’. They contain all the posts that support my ideas about the value and power of freedom. Some of these posts explain what we can achieve with freedom and what we need to utilise it. Some of them explain how we are deprived of freedom and how we often give up freedom for security and comfort. The third collection concludes with possible scenarios depending on what we (society) choose to do.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive blockchain

Welcome to the Pick-a-door Contest results post. This is the eighth economics contest for 2023. This post contains a video of an Excel Model. This Excel Model determines the winner of the contest by determining which doors contain a positive monetary value behind them.

Winner determined in this video

What is the Pick-a-Door Contest?

For the benefit of those who did not enter this contest, here is a brief explanation of how the game works.

In this contest, participants were required to make decisions based on expected payoff and risk. Participants were presented with 12 doors. Behind each door there could be a prize (expressed in dollars). Each door had a possible prize worth a different amount. As the value increased the probability of the prize being behind the door decreased. For example, Door 3 had a 72% chance of a prize worth $34 and Door 9 had a 40% chance of a prize worth $180. If the prize is not there, the participant will receive a value of zero.

Opening a door costs $10. Each participant was given a budget of $40. Therefore, each participant could open as many as 4 of the 12 doors. Participants were not compelled to use all of the budget. If a participant opened 2 or more doors that have zero value behind them, they are eliminated from the contest. If not eliminated, the winner is the participant with the highest total value expressed in dollars (i.e. combined value of prizes minus cost of opening doors).

Responses to the contest were made in the comments section of the contest post. If several participants obtain the same total value, the person who entered (commented) first wins. The account with the winning entry will receive 30 Hive Power.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the contest itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the contest post using the following link.

Results of the Pick-a-door Contest

Table 1 contains the participants and the doors they selected.

Table 1: Doors selected by participants

Table 2 contains the potential prizes behind each door, the probability that the prize will be there, and the actual prize based on the Excel Model.

Table 2: Prizes behind each door

Table 3 contains the prizes each participant won, total value of prizes, and the Contest winner (highlighted in red).

Table 3: Contest Winner

All participants avoided opening more than one door with a zero value behind it. @pwbanker obtained the highest total value. This amounted to $303. All four doors opened had a positive value. This included doors with high values such as 7 and 9. @pwbanker wins 30 Hive Power.

None of the participants managed to open the combination of doors that would have achieved the highest possible total. This combination would have been Doors 4, 5, and 7, and 9. This would have accumulated a total prize worth $347. @alohaed was just one door away from obtaining this combination.

Contest Tips and Analysis

This contest relies very heavily on luck. Any of the doors could have prizes behind them. As more participants enter, the results depend even more greatly on luck. Even so, a good strategy could increase your chances of winning. It helps if participants have a good idea of the number of participants entering and the choices they have made. Therefore, entering late offers an advantage in that aspect. For example, if only two participants have entered. Participant 1 has decided to open only Door 1 and Participant 2 to only open Door 12. At this point, Participant 1 has an 81% chance of winning, Participant 2 only has a 10% chance of winning, and there is a 9% it will be a tie.

Participant 3 could choose to open any of the Doors 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 to have a better chance of winning than either Participant 1 or 2. If Participant 3 knows no other participant will enter, opening Door 2 is the best option. Participant 3 would have over a 72% chance of winning, Participant 1 would only have around a 16% of winning (very big drop), and Participant 2 would still have a 10% of winning. There would be less than a 2% chance of a tie. As more participants enter, the chances of winning from selecting high percentage low payout options decreases significantly. Low percentage high payout options may fall but by a lower percentage.

For this contest, there were a relatively low number of participants (8). Selecting middle percentage middle payout options would have been a good strategy. However, there is still a risk of opening more than one door without a prize. This risk can be mitigated by selecting to open only three doors instead of four. For example, just opening Doors 7, 8 and 9. This would have obtained a score of 285. In this contest, that participant would have placed second.

More posts

I have several collection of posts. I have organised these collections based on content and purpose.

The first collection contains six collection posts created before PeakD had the collection feature. Four of these posts relate to the core of my content, one of them contains all my Actifit Posts, and one of the them contains my video course ‘Economics is Everyone’.

The second collection consists of the posts that I consider define my channel. These posts are significant in terms of content as well as how they contribute to the growth of the channel. These posts reveal the most about what I believe in.

The third and fourth collection is what I call my ‘Freedom-base Economics living book’. They contain all the posts that support my ideas about the value and power of freedom. Some of these posts explain what we can achieve with freedom and what we need to utilise it. Some of them explain how we are deprived of freedom and how we often give up freedom for security and comfort. The third collection concludes with possible scenarios depending on what we (society) choose to do.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive blockchain

Welcome to the Tax Game Contest results post. This is the seventh economics contest for 2023. This post contains a video of an Excel Model. This Excel Model determines the winner of the contest by generating income, tax revenue, and social costs and benefits from the changes participants make to tax rates.

Winner determined in this video

What is the Tax Game Contest?

For this contest, participants are required to set the tax rate for a very small country. Tax has been simplified to just a percentage of overall income (i.e. no distinction between different taxes such as income tax, corporate tax, GST, etc.). The current tax rate and national income are provided in the question. The participants are required to set the tax rate yearly for the next 3 years (i.e. rate in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3). They can choose any tax rate they please (anywhere between 0% and 100%). Changing the tax rate will have both benefits and costs. For example, lowering the tax rate will raise income but, if tax revenue falls because of a lower tax rate, there could be a social cost of reduced funding of services provided by the Government. However, social costs will be reduced in the following year as it is assumed the market will partially adjust to lower or higher Government spending.

Responses to the contest are made in the comments section of the contest post. The account with the winning entry will receive 30 Hive Power.

The format of the required entry is explained in detail in the challenge itself.

For a more detailed explanation, you can access the contest post using the following link.

Results of the Tax Game

Table 1 contains the participants and the tax rates they proposed for the contest.

Table 1: Participants and their proposed tax rates

The model generated three key parameters. They are for determining income’s responsiveness to the tax rate, the social cost of reducing funding for goods and services previously funded by Government (tax revenue reduction only), and the extent the market can compensate from reduced Government spending. Table 2 contains the parameters generated in the model.

Table 2: Model Generated Parameter Values

Note: these parameters have very little meaning without the formulae they are applied to. Refer back to the original question for more context.

The parameters were applied to the formulae stated in the question to determine income and social costs for each participant. Tables 3, 4, and 5 contain the income and social costs for each participant for each year. Table 5 also contains the totals and the winner of the contest.

Table 3: Income and Social Costs Year 1

Table 4: Income and Social Costs Year 2

Table 5: Income and Social Costs Year 3, totals and contest winner

Congratulations to @emeka4 for winning the Tax Game Contest with an income net social cost of $1,382,970,763. @emeka4 wins 30 Hive Power.

Contest Tips and Analysis

It is difficult to determine the optimal tax rates to use. Participants could enter the formulae given into a spreadsheet to gauge the values that are likely to give better results. This would be a time consuming exercise and it is possible something could go wrong entering the formulae, variables and parameters. Studying the figures provided in the question is an easier alternative approach.

The current tax rate of 30% is a little high. It is stunting economic activity. Lowering the tax rate is the first logical approach. Lowering straight to a more desirable level (e.g. around 20%) will create an immediate social cost as tax revenue would fall quite sharply. Lowering tax revenue more gradually would be a better strategy. @emeka4 and @michael87 adopted this strategy. @emeka4 choose lower tax rates than @michael87. This achieved a better outcome. @emeka4 was very close to determining the optimal combination of tax rates for this contest. A different combination of parameters could have changed the outcome of this contest. That is the element of luck.

Some participants choose to lower and then raise tax rates or vice versa. This strategy creates a double penalty. There is a social cost of reducing services and reduced benefits from increasing revenue for new initiatives. Participants need to decide on a tax rate they want to target and then work towards it.

More posts

I have several collection of posts. I have organised these collections based on content and purpose.

The first collection contains six collection posts created before PeakD had the collection feature. Four of these posts relate to the core of my content, one of them contains all my Actifit Posts, and one of them contains my video course ‘Economics is Everyone’.

The second collection consists of the posts that I consider define my channel. These posts are significant in terms of content as well as how they contribute to the growth of the channel. These posts reveal the most about what I believe in.

The third and fourth collection is what I call my ‘Freedom-base Economics living book’. They contain all the posts that support my ideas about the value and power of freedom. Some of these posts explain what we can achieve with freedom and what we need to utilise it. Some of them explain how we are deprived of freedom and how we often give up freedom for security and comfort. The third collection concludes with possible scenarios depending on what we (society) choose to do.

Hive: Future of Social Media

Spectrumecons on the Hive blockchain