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I had this same idea like 10 years ago.
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1899#comic
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Eiffel - The language that lets you specify exactly
that the code does what you think it does, even if
it doesn't do what you wanted.
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Warp wrote:
> Darren New <dne### [at] san rr com> wrote:
>> I had this same idea like 10 years ago.
>> http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1899#comic
>
> I didn't quite get it.
I'm assuming you understand the prisoner's dilemma.
The question is how to get people to cooperate in the face of it. (Where
"cooperate" is the technical term for "remain silent" in the example, while
"cheating" is the opposite.)
One way (which governments seem to take) is to increase punishments for
people getting caught cheating to where the reward from cheating is offset
by the greater punishment for getting caught. Hence, writing a bad check is
punished with a much higher fine than simply the cost of the check, so that
on average writing bad checks after getting the goods in return is a losing
proposition.
Another way (which religions often take) is to increase the reward for
cooperation. One helps one's fellow men because even tho there's a
short-term loss of money when you donate to charity, there's a much greater
reward (eternal paradise) for being such a good person. (Of course, various
earthly entities associated with religion tend to corrupt this, if the
religion even worked this way to start with.)
So, in other words, you can avoid the prisoner's dilemma by making square D
say "both get six months in jail and an eternity of paradise after death",
or you canmake square A and B and C be "both get short sentences, but then
get murdered by other mobsters as a lesson to squealers everywhere." Either
of those will break the dilemma.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Eiffel - The language that lets you specify exactly
that the code does what you think it does, even if
it doesn't do what you wanted.
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