Trust seems to be a rare commodity these days. Game theory helps us understand how distrust grows within a society and---encouragingly---suggest ways in which we might stop the rot. Nicky Case has brought this dry subject matter to life via a wonderful interactive description of how (dis)trust evolves. It's about 30 minutes long. Just play it. … [Read more...]
Game theory and the Trump dossier
Security expert Bruce Schneier believes that a game-theoretic assessment of whether to release the Trump dossier supports release---regardless of your political affiliation or whether you believe the contents. That's the thing with formal analysis---it clarifies the situation and, sometimes, results in a trivial decision-making process. … [Read more...]
Death by conservation
An article in last week's New Scientist reports that conservation policies are driving villagers to kill protected wildlife---including elephants and tigers. Government conservation policies restrict use of ancestral lands which causes resentment among villagers. In some cases this resentment manifests itself in the illegal killing of the very animals that the policies are designed to … [Read more...]