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The Evolution of Cooperation: Lessons from Axelrod’s Tournaments
Game theory, a field that explores strategic decision-making, has profound implications far beyond mathematical curiosity. It touches on biology, human behavior, and even international diplomacy.
In the 1980s, Robert Axelrod ran a series of groundbreaking tournaments to explore how cooperation emerges and flourishes, even in competitive environments. The insights from these tournaments reveal surprising truths about strategy, morality, and the evolution of cooperation.
The First Tournament: Cooperation Prevails
Axelrod’s first tournament revolved around the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma, a scenario where two players repeatedly choose to cooperate or defect. The twist? Players didn’t know how many rounds the game would last, only that it would average around 200 rounds. This uncertainty forced participants to weigh short-term gains against long-term cooperation.
Out of the strategies submitted, the simplest one — Tit for Tat — emerged victorious. Submitted by peace researcher Anatol Rapoport, Tit for Tat starts by cooperating and then mirrors its opponent’s previous move. Its success came down to four key traits:
- Nice: It never initiated defection
- Forgiving: It quickly resumed…
