Reply to comment

After reading the instructions of Prisoner’s dilemma, I tried to calculate the expected values of both choices, as I always do as a math person. The expected value for cooperating is -2 (the other one also cooperate, +3; the other one competes, -5). On the other hand, the expected value for competing is +6 (the other one cooperates, +5; the other one competes, +1). According to the rationally calculated result, the best strategy for this game is always competing. I did that, and I did earn more coins than Serendip did. But it popped out a hilarious but pretty true line, saying : BUT you were flirting with an Inconceivably Foul Fate the whole time! Sometimes, we win but we are not happy because we play foully, or at least ungracefully which makes our conscience suffer. In prisoner's dilemma, we try to get as many coins as possible at the cost some on else's loss. Especially, when I choose to compete and the other one chooses to cooperate, I get the coins but transfer the pain to the other one. When you thinking it on bigger scale, the possible coin to gain in total is always zero, as we know. Moreover, in this case, the possibility is not always equal. It is not always a 50-50 chance. Instead, people tend to trust and depend on each other when both of them are in trouble. Therefore, the chance that people will choose to cooperate is higher than to compete. It is the emotional way to think about this problem rather than simply counting the expected value in a mathematical way.

It somehow reminds me of playing pair sports. Usually, the pair is supposed to trust each other because they are partners. However, when one person doesn't trust another as much as the other one trusts her/ him, he/she alway wants to do all the work her/himself. The possible result is that he/she will win big acclaim. The other person losses the chance to show what he/she actually can do. The world is developing so fast that it seems impossible for any individual to complete a mission independently. We need to learn how to cooperate and live better off with other's help. (I don't mean taking advantage of others here). The prisoner's dilemma teaches us once again that sometimes, we have to make a decision emotionally and morally.