RE: virus: The Prisoner's Dilemma

Sodom (sodom@ma.ultranet.com)
Mon, 22 Feb 1999 13:37:42 -0500

>From our perspective - an act of "desperation" and act of "faith" could be
the same thing. I would say that "yes" is the answer. Even though I hope it doesn't happen to me, I cant be 100% sure how I would act in a situation that extreme. Is anyone here that sure?

It was I that posted the ST:TOS thing.

Bill Roh

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com] On Behalf Of KMO 

Sent:	Monday, February 22, 1999 1:05 AM
To:	virus@lucifer.com
Subject:	Re: virus: The Prisoner's Dilemma

David McFadzean wrote:

> >While it would be rational to adopt the most adaptive strategy, it
> >doesn't follow that the most adaptive strategy is rationality.
>
> Maybe not, but the meta-strategy of adopting the most adaptive
> strategy *is* rationality.

In the episode of Star Trek: TOS that someone cited here recently, Spock claims to have come to the logical conclusion that it was time for an act of desperation. Might rationality prescribe an act of faith? (As if I haven't been reading the "rabid" threads.)

By the way, I read that article on Fischer information and thought I saw a parrallel to the kind of analysis by reverse engineering that you suggested. Was part of what you hoped we'd get from that article?

-KMO