Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

arrow_back_ios_new
MENTAL MODEL · M3179

Pyrrhic Victory

Pyrrhic Victory
DecideHigh supportGame Theory
Included
account_tree

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

King Pyrrhus defeated the Roman army but suffered heavy casualties. He said, 'One more such victory and we are utterly ruined.' It refers to a victory that is not worth the cost because the price paid is too high. -

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Cost accounting of winning. - A hollow victory is a defeat. In litigation, price wars, or office politics, if you exhaust all resources and offend everyone just to 'win,' you have actually lost. The core of strategy is not 'defeating' but 'benefiting.' If the cost exceeds the benefit, conceding (cutting losses) is wisdom.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Pyrrhic victory: a victory that is so costly that it is nearly destructive, not worth the gain. It reminds us to account for the cost of winning.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Check to track your progress (stored locally)
Learning progress0%
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

  • link
    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9A%AE%E6%B4%9B%E5%A3%AB%E5%BC%8F%E8%83%9C%E5%88%A9ZH · Explicit
    verified

RELATED MODELS

Related model

Green Beard Effect

A thought experiment proposed by Richard Dawkins, referring to a gene that can produce three effects: 1. Produces a recognizable tag (such as a green beard)

arrow_forwardRelated model

Hobbesian Trap

A conflict mechanism in which each side’s fear of being attacked first encourages preemptive action and mutually reinforcing defensive preparations.

arrow_forwardRelated model

Semelparity

Semelparity and iteroparity are two reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characterized by multiple reproductive cycles.

arrow_forward