Neeeek wrote:Finally saw it this afternoon. I have one quibble:
The whole boat thing.
If you were on a ferry laced with explosives, and the guy who put said explosives on said ferry told you that you could save yourself by using a detonator that would blow up another ferry full of people, why would you believe him?
You already know he's completely out of his mind, why would you think he's playing straight this time? If I'm on there, I'm assuming he's lying and that each boat has the detonator to it's own ship.
That is indeed the correct analysis - the prisoner's dilemma can be cracked when you realize that any information that the cops give you has no trustworthiness. But, ultimately, the keys to this particular dilemma are numbers and fear. The situation is designed to instill mob action and fear, neither of which is conducive to rational analysis. For that matter, if you expressed this bit of wisdom on one of those boats, how well do you think it would go over? You might win people to your side in time, but initially...