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Full Idea
Prisoners A and B can support or betray one another. If both support, they each get 1 year in prison. If one betrays, the betrayer gets 0 and the betrayed gets 3. If they both betray they get 2 each. The common good is to support each other.
Gist of Idea
Two prisoners get the best result by being loyal, not by selfish betrayal
Source
William Poundstone (Prisoner's Dilemma [1992], 06 'Tucker's')
Book Ref
Poundstone,William: 'Prisoner's Dilemma' [OUP 1992], p.118
A Reaction
[by Albert Tucker, highly compressed] The classic Prisoner's Dilemma. It is artificial, but demonstrates that selfish behaviour gets a bad result (total of four years imprisonment), but the common good gets only two years. Every child should study this!
| 22717 | Self-interest can fairly divide a cake; first person cuts, second person chooses [Poundstone] |
| 22718 | Formal game theory is about maximising or minimising numbers in tables [Poundstone] |
| 22719 | The minimax theorem says a perfect game of opposed people always has a rational solution [Poundstone] |
| 22720 | Two prisoners get the best result by being loyal, not by selfish betrayal [Poundstone] |
| 22721 | The tragedy in prisoner's dilemma is when two 'nice' players misread each other [Poundstone] |
| 22723 | Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - or else! [Poundstone] |
| 22722 | TIT FOR TAT says cooperate at first, then do what the other player does [Poundstone] |