zero-sum

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The Word of the Day for October 3 is:

zero-sum   \ZEER-oh-SUM\   adjective
     : of, relating to, or being a situation (as a game or relationship) in 
which a gain for one side entails a corresponding loss for the other side

Example sentence:
     "Increasing spending for computer ed means cutting it somewhere else," 
explained the school superintendent. "It's a zero-sum situation."

Did you know? 
     Does game theory sound like fun? It can be -- if you are a mathematician 
or economist who needs to analyze a competitive situation in which the outcome 
is determined by the choices of the players and chance. Game theory was 
introduced by mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern in 
their 1944 book _The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior_. In game theory, a 
zero-sum game is one, such as chess or checkers, where each player has a clear 
purpose that is completely opposed to that of the opponent. In economics, a 
situation is zero-sum if the gains of one party are exactly balanced by the 
losses of another and no net gain or loss is created. (Such situations are 
rare.)