Game Theory in Nature:
Biologists observe that animals and even lower organisms often behave altruistically. Such behavior is obviously beneficial for the species as a whole. Although it is difficult to measure how an animal's altruistic behaviour affects its chances for survival and reproduction, theoretical research is starting to fill in the picture of how cooperation may survive natural selection. Some of the most illuminating ideas are coming from game theory, the field of mathematics that studies strategic behavior in competitive situations.
For decades, game theorists' basic paradigm for the puzzle of cooperation has been the scenario called the prisoner's dilemma, in which each player has a powerful incentive to exploit the other. The game is set up so that cooperation is best for the group, but each player individually does better by taking advantage of the other.
TIT FOR TAT: Things look rosier for cooperation in situations where a participant plays the prisoner's......
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Approximate Pages: 2 (260 words per double-spaced page) |