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 At first I didn't really understand the purpose of Prisoner's dilemma. I wasn't quite sure of how I was gaining more coins and what was the difference between cooperating and competing. After playing a couple of times,I noticed that the more I competed, the more payoff I would get. I would end up with more coins than Serendip at the end. However, my gains were a payoff from being devious. I was told I had was "flirting with an Inconceivable Foul Fate." On the other hand, if I would randomly choose to cooperate then have random times to compete, I would end with the most coins, but with the result that I "could do better."

 After having played Prisoner's Dilemma, I found that in order to maximize your payoff or benefits and minimize punishments, there has to be some sort of agreement involved. I agree with Katie that it is definitely easier cooperate with one another. In that sense, cooperation is a win-win situation. It is definitely possible to have cooperation. However, at times more people are willing to cooperate more than others. It may be that they're more confident, prepared and potentially more trusting. Our class discussions are cooperative for the most part. However, I feel that at times I'm not cooperating as much as I should be for a number of reasons. In a way, I'm the person that is getting more from my classmates when I'm not saying much in return. As far as grades go, the ones that are willing to cooperate more in class and thinking aloud are the ones that are rewarded, not the ones that allow for deception. I have come to the conclusion that deviance isn't the right way to go. You may gain something temporarily. However, it isn't just your peers that lose in the end, the person not cooperating will lose as well.