The Wikipedia article has an example that is easier to understand:
Anthropology: in a community where all behavior is well known, and where members of the community know that they will continue to have to deal with each other, then any pattern of behavior (traditions, taboos, etc.) may be sustained by social norms so long as the individuals of the community are better off remaining in the community than they would be leaving the community (the minimax condition).
I’d argue that the tie from “exit vs suffering” to “minimax strategy, mathematically modeled” is fairly tenuous, but there are elements in there that make sense. This discussion reminds me of https://principiadiscordia.com/book/45.php—the math MUST include a mechanism by which the punishers actually benefit from the equilibrium they’re enforcing, and it’s a puzzle to solve if there is no such reason but real humans do it anyway.
That mostly works for neutral-ish behaviours. “Never say this word” or “wear this funny hat” or even some more onerous undertakings are not a big cost compared to the advantages of being in a community. The prisoner example is flawed because it replaces the neutral tradition with active torture and the community with a bunch of isolated people that are forced to stay in their cells anyway. It’s not like they gain any benefits from sticking with the community—nor like they could leave anyway.
The Wikipedia article has an example that is easier to understand:
I’d argue that the tie from “exit vs suffering” to “minimax strategy, mathematically modeled” is fairly tenuous, but there are elements in there that make sense. This discussion reminds me of https://principiadiscordia.com/book/45.php—the math MUST include a mechanism by which the punishers actually benefit from the equilibrium they’re enforcing, and it’s a puzzle to solve if there is no such reason but real humans do it anyway.
That mostly works for neutral-ish behaviours. “Never say this word” or “wear this funny hat” or even some more onerous undertakings are not a big cost compared to the advantages of being in a community. The prisoner example is flawed because it replaces the neutral tradition with active torture and the community with a bunch of isolated people that are forced to stay in their cells anyway. It’s not like they gain any benefits from sticking with the community—nor like they could leave anyway.