In social science one is usually expected to outline some concrete real situation that you think is like the abstract game described. Just saying “here’s a game, maybe there’s some related real situation” is usually considered insufficient.
Warfare is just such a situation, and warlords are disproportionately represented in the human gene pool. The best representation of ancestral environment warfare I’ve seen is a real time strategy adaptation of Risk, where players receive resources proportional to their territory, and can only gain territory by taking it from others by force. I’ve played quite a few iterations of this, and the player who appears strongest almost never wins in the end; instead, the second-most powerful player wins.
Consider three warlords A, B, and C, starting out at peace, with A and B the same strength, and C significantly stronger. If A and B go to war with eachother, then C will conquer them both, so they won’t do that. If B and C go to war with eachother, then A must also go to war with C, or else he’ll find himself facing C plus the conquered remnants of A, with no possible allies, and conversely, if A goes to war with C then B must also go to war with C. In other words, if all players act rationally, then the only player who can’t win is the one who starts with the most resources.
Thanks, I’ll do that if I post another ev. psych. hypothesis.
I think to be “truel-like” (that is, select for mediocrity) a social interaction would have to have:
more than two players
players know well the skills of the other players
the possibility of coalitions (e.g. fair foot races don’t work)
A tribe of apes would have more than two individuals, and the individuals would know each other well. I think the possibility of coalitions is far more likely than the impossibility of coalitions (though I don’t have a good argument to back up my intution). Almost every group social game should have some truel-like aspect to it.
in any situation where the spoils of victory are shared its best to align with the most competent. contrarily, when the winner gets everything, like life or the girl or the title, its almost always best to team up with your fellow incompetents to take down the likely victor.
the game show survivor strikes me as especially illustrative. players routinely gang-up on those perceived to be the most competent to increase everyone’s chances of winning. once their usefulness as a workhorse or a ″challenge winner″ has been exhausted, or at least no longer outweighs concerns about winning a million bucks (as soon as the perceived probability of winning exceeds some minimum), the “strongest” or “most (apparently) cunning” player is often ousted..
In social science one is usually expected to outline some concrete real situation that you think is like the abstract game described. Just saying “here’s a game, maybe there’s some related real situation” is usually considered insufficient.
Warfare is just such a situation, and warlords are disproportionately represented in the human gene pool. The best representation of ancestral environment warfare I’ve seen is a real time strategy adaptation of Risk, where players receive resources proportional to their territory, and can only gain territory by taking it from others by force. I’ve played quite a few iterations of this, and the player who appears strongest almost never wins in the end; instead, the second-most powerful player wins.
Consider three warlords A, B, and C, starting out at peace, with A and B the same strength, and C significantly stronger. If A and B go to war with eachother, then C will conquer them both, so they won’t do that. If B and C go to war with eachother, then A must also go to war with C, or else he’ll find himself facing C plus the conquered remnants of A, with no possible allies, and conversely, if A goes to war with C then B must also go to war with C. In other words, if all players act rationally, then the only player who can’t win is the one who starts with the most resources.
Thanks, I’ll do that if I post another ev. psych. hypothesis.
I think to be “truel-like” (that is, select for mediocrity) a social interaction would have to have:
more than two players
players know well the skills of the other players
the possibility of coalitions (e.g. fair foot races don’t work)
A tribe of apes would have more than two individuals, and the individuals would know each other well. I think the possibility of coalitions is far more likely than the impossibility of coalitions (though I don’t have a good argument to back up my intution). Almost every group social game should have some truel-like aspect to it.
you’re missing the essential ingredient:
winner-takes-all
in any situation where the spoils of victory are shared its best to align with the most competent. contrarily, when the winner gets everything, like life or the girl or the title, its almost always best to team up with your fellow incompetents to take down the likely victor.
the game show survivor strikes me as especially illustrative. players routinely gang-up on those perceived to be the most competent to increase everyone’s chances of winning. once their usefulness as a workhorse or a ″challenge winner″ has been exhausted, or at least no longer outweighs concerns about winning a million bucks (as soon as the perceived probability of winning exceeds some minimum), the “strongest” or “most (apparently) cunning” player is often ousted..
I was under the impression truels were sometimes real-life situations, and the abstract game is suggested based on them.