Of course, the P.Dilemma is a particularly academic invention. In real situations, the prisoners probably know each other and know of each other's reputation capital. They may be known not to squeal, for instance, which is why they chose to commit the crime together. And confessing might have other repercussions later on in life... -Declan On Sat, 19 Jul 1997, Tim May wrote:
On the other hand, the relevance to Prisoner's Dilemma games is pretty obvious:
"Mr. Bell, if you confess and plead guilty, you'll receive a one-year prison term. If you don't confess, when we find you guilty you'll receive the maximum term. If you confess but Mr. May _also_ confesses, you'll still receive the maximum term. If neither of you confesses, you'll still be found guilty. So, what'll it be?"