Prisoner's Dilemma Quick reference
A Dictionary of Sociology (4 ed.)
...'s Dilemma A paradigmatic instance in game theory , taking its name from a story of two prisoners, who are interrogated separately and cannot communicate with each other. There is insufficient evidence for the police to convict either prisoner of armed robbery, so that unless they confess, each will receive a relatively light sentence of one year's imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms. The prosecuting authorities offer each prisoner a deal, whereby they may confess and turn state's witness against the other prisoner (putting him away for ten...
Prisoner's Dilemma Reference library
Dictionary of the Social Sciences
...'s Dilemma The best-known example from game theory , which illustrates how people behave in strategic situations. The Prisoner's Dilemma is based on some version of the following situation: two men have been arrested and are suspected of burglary. The police do not have evidence to convict them unless one or the other confesses to the crime; however, they do have enough evidence to convict them of a minor felony if neither confesses. This conviction carries a sentence of a year in prison. The two prisoners are not permitted to communicate and each is...
prisoner's dilemma Reference library
J. D. G. Evans
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (2 ed.)
...'s dilemma . The prisoner's dilemma describes a possible situation in which prisoners are offered various deals and prospects of punishment. The options and outcomes are so constructed that it is rational for each person, when deciding in isolation, to pursue a course which each finds to be against his interest and therefore irrational. For example, if I am an employer and you a worker, it may be to my advantage not to pay you (rather than pay you) whether or not you do the work, and for you not to do the work (rather than do it) whether or not I pay you;...
prisoner’s dilemma Quick reference
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (6 ed.)
...prisoner’s dilemma In game theory, any generalized situation which is essentially similar to the following: two prisoners are interviewed separately about a crime. If both deny the charge, there is enough evidence to convict them of a minor charge. If one confesses and implicates the other, who denies it, then the first will be released and the other will be heavily punished. If both confess, then both receive a medium punishment. The ‘dilemma’ for either prisoner is that denying the charge can result in either a minor conviction or the worst possible outcome...
Prisoner's Dilemma Games Reference library
Encyclopedia of Evolution
...the Prisoner's Dilemma in spatially segregated populations. Poundstone, W. Prisoner's Dilemma: Jon Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb . New York, 1992. An entertaining and historic overview of the use of the Prisoner's Dilemma game in many disciplines. Ridley, M. The Origins of Virtue . New York, 1996. A fine trade book on evolution and social behavior, with numerous sections devoted to the Prisoner's Dilemma. Sigmund, K. Games of Life . Oxford, 1993. A short book on the uses of game theory, with emphasis on the Prisoner's Dilemma....
Prisoner's Dilemma game n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...than if they both choose D . The game was discovered in 1950 by the US mathematician Merrill M(eeks) Flood ( 1908–91 ) and the Polish-born US mathematician Melvin Dresher ( 1911–92 ). See also mixed-motive game , Newcomb's problem , N - person Prisoner's Dilemma , social dilemma , sure-thing principle , tit for tat strategy . PD or PDG abbrev...
N-person Prisoner’s Dilemma n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...-person Prisoner’s Dilemma n . The first and most fundamental type of multi-person social dilemma , a generalization of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game to include more than two players, discovered simultaneously and independently in 1973 by the US psychologist Robyn Mason Dawes ( 1936–2010 ), the US mathematician Henry J. Hamburger (born 1940 ), and the US economist Thomas C. Schelling ( 1921–2016 ). It is an interactive decision involving three or more players who each face a choice between a cooperative strategy ( 2 ) labelled C and a...
prisoner's Dilemma
N-person Prisoner's Dilemma
Acts Reference library
Loveday Alexander and Loveday Alexander
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...philosopher is further enhanced by his treatment of the jailer: by honourably staying put when the earthquake would have allowed him to escape (and by implication keeping the other prisoners in place), Paul prevents the jailer from a shame-induced suicide ( v. 28 ). The result is a reversal of roles: disregarding his original orders ( v. 23 ), the jailer now treats his prisoners with honour ( v. 30 ), washes their wounds ( v. 33 ) and supplicates them for salvation ( v. 30 ). Thus Paul is able to use the shameful experience of prison to further his mission (...
Islam and Modernity Reference library
Fazlur Rahman
Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook
...from modern learning.” 4 In the same work he quotes Muhammad ‘Abduh [Egyptian modernist, 1849–1905] as saying to him, after bemoaning the plight of al-Azhar [University in Cairo], about the Egyptian products of Western education, “These are even more misguided.” 5 This dilemma that characterized education in the days of Shibli and ‘Abduh in the “forward” lands of Islam—lands that had a highly developed traditional education as well as a recently adopted modern Western-style education—is, as the preceding pages have demonstrated...
Proverbs Reference library
K. T. Aitken and K. T Aitken
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...the fool to a position of public responsibility in the community. This is a gross distortion of what is right and proper ( v. 1 ) and utterly absurd ( v. 8 ), for fools are neither worthy of such honour nor capable of discharging their duties responsibly. vv. 4–5 point to the dilemma of how best to respond to a fool. To speak up runs the risk of descending to his level ( v. 4 ), while to keep silent means their conceit will go unchecked ( v. 5 ). It is a test of wisdom to know whether silence or reprimand is the lesser of two evils in the circumstances. To...
1 & 2 Samuel Reference library
Gwilym H. Jones, Gwilym H. Jones, and Gwilym H. Jones
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...by royal oath ( v. 11 ). Thirdly, there are several links with the account of Joab's interview with the wise woman of Abel of Beth-maacah ( 2 Sam 20, cf. Conroy 1978 ). Whatever the parallels proposed, the interview reported in this chapter has its own problems. The woman's dilemma is succinctly presented: she was a widow and the murderer was her only heir; she was thus torn between her duty to avenge the other son's death and her duty to her husband to preserve his name by protecting the son still alive ( v. 7 ). Her community rightly insisted on blood...
Extra-canonical early Christian literature Reference library
J. K. Elliott and J. K. Elliott
The Oxford Bible Commentary
...tradition as an ambivalent attitude towards Pilate becomes fixed: Pilate is a puppet in the hands of the Jewish mob. This way of resolving the Pilate problem by the NT authors did not, however, finally settle the issue. The later, apocryphal, tradition reflects a continuing dilemma in judging his character. Possibly the change in attitude, especially in Western European sources, may be explained by the fact that the earlier goodwill of the Roman authorities had turned to officially inspired persecution. The ambiguous ways of treating Pilate are at their...
social dilemma
game
