Comments by "earthstick" (@earthstick) on "What Game Theory Reveals About Life, The Universe, and Everything" video.

  1. What if the opponents playing tit-for-tat are unbalanced? A feather-weight competing against a heavy-weight will just not last long. In that case it might be better to turn the other cheek or die.
    1
  2. I started thinking about tit-for-tat as a strategy, in particular the relative strength of each opponent and their ability to survive to the next round. When I look more closely at the example of boxing, it is clear that boxers are not following tit-for-tat at all, because they break the rule that says 'do not be the first to be non-cooperative/aggressive'. In a boxing match, if neither opponent throws the first punch then there will be no match. So what if we apply the rules a little differently in the case of boxing match. Lets say that the aim of the match is throw punches, therefore to throw the first punch is cooperative - to the wishes of the organisers. But if it is cooperative to throw the first punch, then both opponents will throw a punch immediately, we have double KO, and the match is over as soon as it begins. Therefore neither application of the rules of tit-for-tat work in the case of a boxing match. Indeed tit-for-tat does not satify the requirments of a boxing match. Are there any other cases where tit-for-tat is not appropriate? How about conversation. If we look at two people conversing we can see that one talks while the other is silent, then the other talks and the first is silent, and so on. We can see they are following the second rule that is 'repeat your opponents last move'. But again the first rule is a problem. If to cooperate is to listen then neither say anything and the converstation does not begin. If to cooperate is to talk, then they just talk at one another, rather than conversing. It appears the problem is the same as for the boxing match, the game never begins or does not satisfy the requirements of the game. A third example that we have surely all have encountered: A person is walking along the street, sidewalk in America, pavement in Britain. Someone is walking towards them in the opposite direction but on the same side. One of them must step aside or they will collide. Each step is a round in the game. If to cooperate is to hold your course then they will collide. If to cooperate is to step aside then both step aside and they will still collide. According to the rules of tit-for-tat, on the next round, each person repeats the other's last move, thus they both step aside again, and they will still collide.
    1