Cooperation

I have just finished reading a very interesting book" The Evolution of Cooperation" by Robert Axelrod.  It was written in the 1980s by a professor as a result of a study he did of the Prisoner's Dilemna game.  The conclusions are fascinating.

I won't go through all of the thinking right now but the basic point is that there are many situations where cooperation is a better overall strategy than competition - regardless of whether the participants recognize that situation or are actual adversaries. 

"The main results of Cooperation Theory are encouraging.  They show that cooperation can get started by even a small cluster of individuals who are prepared to reciprocate cooperation, even in a world where no one else will cooperate.  They analysis also shows that the two key requisites for cooperation to thrive are that the cooperation be based on reciprocity, and that the shadow of the futue is important enough to make this reciprocity stable.  But once cooperation based on reciprocity  is established in a population, it can protect itself from invasion by uncooperative strategies."  Page 173

Here's hoping for a growth in cooperative strategies in 2011 !