Agreed. In fact, the classic game-theoretic model of chicken requires that the players vastly prefer losing their pride to losing their lives. If winning/losing > losing/dying, then in a situation with imperfect information, we would assign a positive probability to playing aggressively.
And technically speaking, it is most rational, in the game-theoretic sense, to disable your steering ostentatiously before the other player does so as well. In that case, you’ve won the game before it begins, and there is no actual risk.
Either a) your opponent truly does believe that you’ve disabled your steering, in which case the outcomes are identical and the actions are equally rational, or b) we account for the (small?) chance that your opponent can determine that you actually have not disabled your steering, in which case he ostentatiously disables his and wins. Only by setting up what is in effect a doomsday device can you ensure that he will not be tempted to information-gathering brinksmanship.
But a person who truly cares more about winning than surviving can be utterly rational in choosing that strategy.
In chicken-like games in which one player is rational and the other irrational:
The rational person cares more about surviving than winning and so survives and loses.
The irrational person who doesn’t think through the consequences of losing both survives and wins.
Agreed. In fact, the classic game-theoretic model of chicken requires that the players vastly prefer losing their pride to losing their lives. If winning/losing > losing/dying, then in a situation with imperfect information, we would assign a positive probability to playing aggressively.
And technically speaking, it is most rational, in the game-theoretic sense, to disable your steering ostentatiously before the other player does so as well. In that case, you’ve won the game before it begins, and there is no actual risk.
No, if you are rational the best action is to convince your opponent that you have disabled your steering when in fact you have not done so.
Either a) your opponent truly does believe that you’ve disabled your steering, in which case the outcomes are identical and the actions are equally rational, or b) we account for the (small?) chance that your opponent can determine that you actually have not disabled your steering, in which case he ostentatiously disables his and wins. Only by setting up what is in effect a doomsday device can you ensure that he will not be tempted to information-gathering brinksmanship.