A 'prisoner's dilemma' for real-life situations
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The creation and growth of communities requires a degree of cooperation among citizens. Photo Credit: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
What's best for the individual and what's best for society are often not the same thing--this predicament is the premise for the famous "prisoner's dilemma" game. However, healthy societies depend on individuals cooperating for the common good, even at the risk of personal loss. In theory, individuals should choose what's in their own best self-interest, but the reality is that many people--and even animals--instead choose to cooperate, to the puzzlement of many professionals who study sociology, game theory and other disciplines.
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