Why do competitors open their stores next to one another? - Jac de Haan

Why HN readers recommended it

HN people use it as a clear, quick explanation of Nash equilibrium and why competitors cluster.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel

TED-Ed

Topic

game theory

Format

explainer

Level

intro

HN recommenders in dataset

3

HN mentions in dataset

6

Recommendation years in dataset

2015–2025

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

• I've only had a cursory introduction to Nash's work through brief flirtations with game theory, but this is the best explanation i've found so far on Nash's Equilibrium which i still remember vividly for highlighting why a "Socially Optimal Solution" is pretty rare in real …

• Setting up shop directly next to your competitor is the best choice, i.e., Nash equilibrium. That's why all the gas stations and coffee shops cluster up instead of spreading out. For example, on a beach, you should expect 2 ice cream vendors to cluster in …

• extrapolating a small sample size will probably produce unreliable results. also its possible that there are 3 sushi restaurants on the same street because of the Hotelling model of spatial location (good vid explaining that: [VIDEO] )