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The Sandman Will Keep You Awake - The Loop
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I think this is a common type of social inefficiency.

Kinds of matches/mismatches:
- similarity matching (like having the same goal, interests, means of pursuing a goal, or personal preference)
- difference matching (like someone having something and another person wanting it)
Further dimensions for each of the above:
- degree of match/mismatch
- degree of certainty about any variable
- the circumstances/timeframe/place for which any of the above applies
See also:
- mutual benefit
- coordination games in game theory
- the free preview of The Best Interface is No Interface I read on Amazon was a bit related, because it also deals with a situation where there are many variables, and the interface is used to essentuially specify each of the variables (for "matching" the desired functionality to the present situation).
- 'Alignment', not 'alliance' – the shifting paradigm of international security cooperation: toward a conceptual taxonomy of alignment THOMAS S. WILKINS (it seems there is a paper with same author and similar title, just without the final peice of the subtitle, available here)
- Maxwell's Demon: Why Information is Entropy
- means and ends chains
- There’s a Difference Between Cooperation and Collaboration "most managers are cooperative, friendly, and willing to share information — but what they lack is the ability and flexibility to align their goals and resources with others in real time."