Michael Vick and the Prisoner's Dilemma

If I ever go back to teaching math, I'll need to remember this week for a great example for a lecture on game theory. We are watching a real-life version of the famous Prisoner's Dilemma. For those unfamiliar with the PD, wikipedia has a good summary. Basically, the problem is described as a scenario where two prisoners are separately brought in for questioning. If either one cooperates with police (confesses and gives up the other guy), they will get a reduced sentence. If neither one cooperates (both keep quiet), then they will both get the lightest sentence possible. However, if one doesn't cooperate while the other does, the non-cooperator will get the harshest sentence possible.

Here is a nice table directly taken from Wikipedia:

	Prisoner B Stays Silent	Prisoner B Betrays
Prisoner A Stays Silent	Each serves six months	Prisoner A serves ten years Prisoner B goes free
Prisoner A Betrays	Prisoner A goes free Prisoner B serves ten years	Each serves five years

From a game theory standpoint, even though it is in the prisoners best interest to not talk to the police, the risk of the harsh sentence entices both prisoners to betray each other.

So, why the heck bring it up now? Well, I think we're seeing this play out right now with the Michael Vick investigation. For those not up on their NFL scandals, Vick has been indicted on charges related to running a dog fighting ring. The really interesting part is that a few of his cohorts were also indicted. One of them already plead guilty a few weeks ago. This started the pressure on the other three, including Vick. Now there has been an announcement that Vick's two other buddies are scheduled to enter pleas later this week. Uh-oh.

If you look at the table above, that could put all of them squarely (or, more precisely, rectangularly) in the lower right box. Granted, I am sort of forcing this analogy a bit especially since there is likely a boatload of evidence coaxing these confessions, but it is still fascinating to watch from a game theoretic standpoint. It is also fascinating to watch in terms of hoping dog torturers get their comeuppances.

Good, evil, and burritos

I'm from California... born and raised. As such I enjoy a good burrito now and then. Little did I know on my most recent trip to Taqueria Vallarta in Felton, would place me smack dab in the middle of a battle between good and evil of biblical proportions. Oh, even though I am from California, I still say things like "smack dab" (my grandparents were from Oklahoma and South Dakota). Anyway, back to God and Satan and all that. Look at my order number:


Oh, man. I think it is a sign. The odds of getting this number are 1 in a million. Really. I did the math. How often is something actually 1 in a million? I mean, you hear that phrase all the time, but to actually be "1 in a million" is pretty crazy... on top of the fact good and evil are in a play here.

OK, that's it... I feel better now that I blogged that out.