Comment by petesergeant

11 hours ago

Slowing down only makes any sense if you can coordinate a slow-down for everyone.

Dario found himself in the prisoner's dilemma.

  • Which is one of those fun things that didn’t actually exist back when we took it for granted that our fellow person was operating under some kind of moral or ethical framework, which pretty much everyone was until the economists told us that wasn’t rational, because it turns out it’s an evolutionary advantage to operate under an ethical or moral framework because it allows the kind of coordination which facilitates better collective outcomes, which everyone knew until the economists came along to tell us we were wrong and in fact it was rational not to do so and suddenly we had the prisoner’s dilemma.

    • On the other hand, there's research suggesting that the most optimal behavior for the best outcomes (based on the famously dependable economist style of analysis in a vacuum) is to practice the moral/ethical framework but to also engage in tit for tat - ie, assume everyone means well but respond proportionally when they don't.