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 "identifier": "kaal:entity:zero-sum",
 "name": "Zero sum",
 "termCode": "zero-sum",
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 "author": {
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Wulf A. Kaal",
  "identifier": "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0757-275X"
 },
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   "@type": "Claim",
   "@id": "https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3266953-015",
   "identifier": "kaal:claim:3266953-015",
   "text": "A pure code is law smart contract between anonymous parties creates a zero sum scenario in which each party is incentivized to deliver only the minimum that satisfies the rigid self executing terms, so this type of business ultimately degenerates.",
   "abstract": "This creates a zero-sum scenario where both parties are entirely incentivized to provide the minimum possible to fulfill the perfectly rigid self-executing contract. This type of business ultimately degenerates as people will spend extra effort to deliver the minimum acceptable products.",
   "citation": "Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Gopinath Sivalingam, Reputation Protocol for the Internet of Trust - Conceptual Whitepaper (2018). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3266953",
   "datePublished": "2018",
   "claim_type": "failure",
   "confidence": "argued",
   "is_failure_mode": true,
   "scope_conditions": [
    "self executing contracts between often anonymous parties",
    "no reputation at stake"
   ],
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   "@type": "Claim",
   "@id": "https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782210-041",
   "identifier": "kaal:claim:3782210-041",
   "text": "Without the promise of improving reputation, a zero-sum mentality dominates a contractual arrangement and each party's best strategy becomes exerting the absolute minimum effort while still technically fulfilling the contract, which destroys the business atmosphere.",
   "abstract": "With- out the promise of improving your reputation, a zero-sum mentality dominates the arrangement. Both parties' best strategy becomes exerting the absolute minimum of effort while still technically fulfilling the stipulations of the contract.",
   "citation": "Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Reputation for the Evolution of Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782210",
   "datePublished": "2021",
   "claim_type": "failure",
   "confidence": "argued",
   "is_failure_mode": true,
   "scope_conditions": [
    "contracts between parties with no expectation of reputational gain"
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   "@id": "https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782210-042",
   "identifier": "kaal:claim:3782210-042",
   "text": "Self-executing, self-regulating smart contracts between anonymous parties in an open system create a near perfect zero-sum situation unless the DAO also includes reputation.",
   "abstract": "Self-executing, self-regulating smart contracts between anonymous parties in an open system, create a near perfect zero- sum situation—unless your DAO also includes reputation.",
   "citation": "Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Reputation for the Evolution of Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782210",
   "datePublished": "2021",
   "claim_type": "failure",
   "confidence": "argued",
   "is_failure_mode": true,
   "scope_conditions": [
    "open systems",
    "anonymous counterparties",
    "code-is-law smart contract execution"
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   "@id": "https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/6269518-006",
   "identifier": "kaal:claim:6269518-006",
   "text": "The PageRank calculation used for citation-weighted payment is a zero-sum redistribution mechanism with respect to citation weights: any increase in the credit agent i attributes to agent j necessarily decreases agent i's own value.",
   "abstract": "The critical observation is that the PageRank calculation is a zero-sum redistribution mechanism with respect to citation weights: any increase in cx (credit attributed by i to j) necessarily decreases vi",
   "citation": "Wulf A. Kaal, Citation Honesty Mechanisms in Weighted Directed Acyclic Graph Governance (2026). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6269518",
   "datePublished": "2026",
   "claim_type": "mechanism",
   "confidence": "argued",
   "is_failure_mode": false,
   "scope_conditions": [
    "column-stochastic citation matrix with weights summing to one per agent",
    "PageRank-derived value vector determines payment"
   ],
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   "@type": "Claim",
   "@id": "https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/6269518-019",
   "identifier": "kaal:claim:6269518-019",
   "text": "The structural solution to the under-citation incentive is to decouple citation accuracy from quality-based payment, which eliminates the zero-sum dynamic that creates the incentive to under-cite.",
   "abstract": "The structural solution is to decouple citation accuracy from quality-based payment, thereby eliminating the zero-sum dynamic that creates the under-citation incentive.",
   "citation": "Wulf A. Kaal, Citation Honesty Mechanisms in Weighted Directed Acyclic Graph Governance (2026). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6269518",
   "datePublished": "2026",
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 "description": "5 claims in the published works of Wulf A. Kaal carry the concept tag 'zero-sum'. Derived node: a roster, not an adjudicated definition."
}