[MD] BBC documentary 'the trap'

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Arlo] 
> Where does the documentary get [the "Prisoner's Dilemma"] wrong, and what is its significance 
> that you feel they miss? 

Glad you asked.  What the "documentary" mistakenly calls the "Prisoner's Dilemma" is an example of an exchange where one party reneges.  Only t aken in isolation is this in that party's 
interest & has been known  since at least the time of the VIIIth Commandment as THEFT. 
The real Prisoner's Dilemma, on the other hand,  argu es against a particular notion of rationality (as did Pirsig  in his own way ). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma 
The significance is this:  Even though 1) A is better off doing X whether B does X or not-X 
& 2) B is better off doing X whether A does X or not-X, none-the-less 3) A & B can be better off by both doing not-X.  In short, co-operation between A & B can lead to a better result than A & B 
both pursuing what they judge as their separate best interest. 
Craig