I recently watched WarGames, and the final segment of the movie was quite intruiging.

The War Operation Plan Response machine (named “Joshua”) planned and executed a full-scale assault against the Soviets, and determined that the attack was the best way to “win the game”.

After a confrontation with the purpotedly dead Stephen Falken, we are instilled the idea that just like the game of Tic Tac Toe, some outcomes are futile.
And as in a nuclear war, it is not a victory, but rather futility - to strike the foe, to then too be decimated in retaliation.

Futility: pointlessness or uselessness. Source: Google

It’s an interesting concept, especially in light of problem solving.

Training a computer to recognise the futility of solving a given scenario is one thing,
but what about ourselves? When do we recognise futility in a situation?

When do we it is time to give up?
Surely every problem has a solution?