I ferociously disagree. I found that students were always confused by it. In
the first place, the four payoff boxes are misnamed because, "to cooperate" in
that situation means to cooperate with the police, hence to defect. "Defect"
is also a misleading term.
I also don't see how the cooperation dilemma is different from the prisonners
dilemma. Just change the headings to sheep grazed on the common and the
payoffs to sheep weight gain and everything else remains the same.
N
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University ([email protected])
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe]
----- Original Message -----
From: George Duncan
To: [email protected];The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee
Group
Sent: 4/3/2010 3:47:52 PM
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Slashdot Science Story | Twins' DNA Foils Police
Nick,
I find that the Prisoner's Dilemma is a useful way of thinking about how
people's behavior can be manipulated by those with some control over the reward
structure (say the prosecutor). And a PhD student (now professor) and I (now
artist) did a paper on what someone without such control (say the defense
attorney) can do to get them out of the prosecutor's trap.
The Tragedy of the Commons is different, and a really useful way of thinking
about the need in some cases for social controls to promote cooperation.
I do find that students still find the Prisoner's Dilemma cute, maybe even
opens up there minds a bit to how social decision making differs from
individual decision making.
George
On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 3:29 PM, Nicholas Thompson <[email protected]>
wrote:
George,
you are, of course, absolutely correct.
That is always a weakness to the PD story, which is, at base, a really stupid
way to think about cooperation issues. It is one of those ideas which was sort
of cute at the time, got into all the text books, and has been drilled into the
heads of two generations of students, but really doesnt adequately represent
the crucial variables in the situation and should have been dropped about two
decades ago. It is a case of scientific mob thinking at its absolute worst.
The tragedy of the commons model is much clearer and avoids all the cutsy
language that has been promoted by people who know bfa about prisoners and
their dilemmas.
Nick
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University ([email protected])
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe]
----- Original Message -----
From: George Duncan
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Sent: 4/3/2010 3:11:29 PM
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Slashdot Science Story | Twins' DNA Foils Police
What makes this not a Prisoner's Dilemma is there is no incentive for James to
rat on John and no incentive for John to rat on James. James and John have an
optimal strategy of stonewalling.
Poor prosecutor! Hard to see how the prosecutor can set up a Prisoner's Dilemma
here, at least without deception.
On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Owen Densmore <[email protected]> wrote:
Now here's a new twist on the Prisoner's Dilemma:
http://slashdot.org/story/10/04/03/1539224/
-- Owen
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--
George Duncan
georgeduncanart.com
represented by Artistas de Santa Fe
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(505) 983-6895
Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward.
Soren Kierkegaard
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
--
George Duncan
georgeduncanart.com
represented by Artistas de Santa Fe
www.artistasdesantafe.com
(505) 983-6895
Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward.
Soren Kierkegaard
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
