Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
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Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#2Certainly an intersting clip, but not an instance of prisoner's dilemma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Balls#Split_or_Steal.3F
And it's a completely ridiculous claim that it's "everything you need to know about strategy"...
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#3Despite this clip being a classic classroom example in a game theory course, it's technically not a prisoner's dilemma, for a couple reasons. First, in the PD the players cannot communicate. The ability to communicate makes it more of a signalling game since a player can say/do something to alter the other players' beliefs about their type.
Secondly, in the PD both players have an incentive to defect from their cooperative strategy (stay silent), which results in a Nash equilibrium where both players are worse off. This is, after all, why the prisoner's dilemma is so interesting -- by playing their dominant strategies, both players end up in a worse situation.
In this clip, stealing is a weakly dominant strategy. That is, if I know the other guy is going to steal, I can't be made any better or worse by changing my choice to split or steal. If I know the other guy is splitting, then I of course would want to steal (which is why splitting is an unstable strategy).
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#4By telling his strategy (“100%, I’m going to steal”), the first player forced the endgame he wanted. The second player had no option other than choose split in the hope he gets something. If the first player had instead manifested his interest in splitting, the second player would have no rational reason to not choosing to steal.
It's an interesting twist on the prisoner's dilemma, and the first player played it accordingly.
Even more interesting is this other video, which shows how cooperation without punishment doesn't work:
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#5[deleted]
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#6As others have pointed out this is not a true prisoners dilemna. Nonetheless, an interesting side-note is after saying that he was going to steal the whole time, he had to choose split (under the assumption that he is acting as a team player). This is because it would be inefficient if the other player chose steal simply out of spite/distrust and the team walks away with nothing.
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#7In addition to some of the other issues people have noted, it's mysterious that someone would think the prisoner's dilemma is a "master lesson" in political strategy. Probably more interesting and relevant would be a more complicated example explaining why both strong and weak political players are rewarded by voting in coalitions.
(I didn't watch the video)
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#8Despite this clip being a classic classroom example in a game theory course, it's technically not a prisoner's dilemma, for a couple reasons. First, in the PD the players cannot communicate. The ability to communicate makes it more of a signalling game since a player can say/do something to alter the other players' beliefs about their type. Secondly, in the PD both players have an incentive to defect from their coope…
Players cannot communicate in a prisoners dilemma, however the notion of a Precommitment Strategy[0] is very real in game theory and the player in the linked video is doing just that; committing to a strategy in advance of the actual decision making.
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#9We've based an economy around a schizophrenics depraved game of chicken. That's what all this shit boils down to.
Re: Everything you need to know about Strategy in 6 mins- solving prisoner's dilemma
#10So is this the guy that's advised the Republicans in congress to ruin our country's credit rating as a bargaining maneuver with the stupid 'Debt Ceiling Debate'?
"Alex Patton is a media & communications expert, Republican political consultant"