Prisoners' Dilemma - And the (un)Sustainability of Empathy

[GenuinePerspectiveXC]

Quoted from Wikipidia, this is the Prisoners' Dilemma:

Two members of a criminal gang are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no means of communicating with the other. The prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to convict the pair on the principal charge, but they have enough to convict both on a lesser charge. Simultaneously, the prosecutors offer each prisoner a bargain. Each prisoner is given the opportunity either to betray the other by testifying that the other committed the crime, or to cooperate with the other by remaining silent.

Edited November 9, 2018 by GenuinePerspectiveXC

[GenuinePerspectiveXC]

The prisoner's dilemma can be applied to a variety of areas in life such as relationships or race relations.  Perhaps one side empathizes and the other does not.  Or, both sides empathizing and a greater outcome occurs.  Same thing in business.  Pepsi Co and Coca-Cola usually have a gentlemen's agreement to pretty much price match instead of both being forced into barely sustainable price warfare.

Here's one on this game show:

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by GenuinePerspectiveXC

[Quicksilver]

I would say that the whole moving up the spiral of society is a byproduct of more and more "prisoners" instinctively cooperating with each other 

[Wyze]

Thats the thing with cooperation and seeing bigger picture as we all become more emotionally and mentally mature; you come to understand and revise the "zero sum game" mentality.

1. not everything is on a Zero Sum scale

2. its about discerning which one is and which one isn't - and act accordingly

3. sometimes losing on one scale means winning on another, that is more important to you

4. sometimes there are no winners

[GenuinePerspectiveXC]

@Quicksilver Sometimes I wonder. In the gameshow, the woman said she was betrayed last time, so she instinctively chose not to let that happen again.  The man was trying to play an honor code and got his head chopped off like Ned Stark.  Which vMeme do you think they each are now dominated by?