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..
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..