The Game of Trust
Would you trust an enemy? Would you doubt a friend?
This content is entirely inspired by an educative game that I found to be game-changing — The Evolution of Trust. Based on game theory, it helps us understand what’s the best path to follow in a world where friends cheat each other, and enemies find it better to cooperate with each other.
Trusting is hard. We often find it hard to understand whom to trust and whom not to.
- Would you forgive someone who betrayed your trust? Would you show the other cheek if someone slaps you hard on your face?
- Or would you punish to keep a reputation that you won’t be messed with?
- Would you try a little psychology to understand the other person, and see if it’s in your best interests to cheat or cooperate?
- Would you do unto others as they do unto you?
- Do you believe in the survival of the lion vs the deer?
The game presents 5 characters at the beginning playing against each other:
Copycat
The copycat initially trusts the other, and as long as the other doesn’t cheat, they continue to trust the other. But if the other cheats, the copycat follows suit. It just copies what the other player did in the previous round.
Grudger
Grudger is big on revenge. They always trust the other person in the first round, but if they ever get cheated, they’ll never forgive. They’ll keep cheating even if the others mend their ways.
Always Cheat
Seems like this person is pissed off at the world. Their favourite quote is “The strong shall eat the weak.” They’re predators, but is violence the best option? Will they be able to eat them all?
Always Cooperate
War brings nothing but pain, but by cooperating we can achieve great things. Or can we? This personality can be compared to Jesus or Gandhi, IMO. They are good souls, never doing harm to another, never betraying the trust, and always believing change is possible even for Devil. But in a world with at least some evil, would goodness be taken advantage of?
The Detective
They analyse the other and find if it’s in their best interests to exploit the other’s trust or not.
Who do you think will win if these characters were to play against each other? I put my bet on the detective. But I was quite taken aback by who won the game. Perhaps you will be too.
Now they get to play against each other in a tournament, with the worst players getting eliminated, and the successful players spreading their ideology.
This makes total sense, as unsuccessful people are less likely to be imitated, and the ideas of successful ones are more likely to be followed by others.
So, if the only characters in the world were the five mentioned above, who is likely to win as the game continues for several generations? — Again, you might be quite surprised if you play the game.
That’s not all. The game now introduces mistakes. Miscommunication and misinterpretation are all too common. It can turn best friends into enemies. The game also introduces 3 new characters:
Copykitten
They only distrust and cheat the other if the other cheats them twice in a row. They understand mistakes can happen in communication. And they forgive the first time.
Random
You’ll never know if you can trust me or not. I might cheat you or prove myself worthy of trust. I am a coin toss. I am an agent of the beautiful chaos.
Simpleton
I don’t really understand this person, but maybe you can. If you play the game, maybe you can let me know in the comments.
Who do you think will win the game? You could be surprised.
Takeaway
This is what the makers of this enlightening game say:
“If there’s one big takeaway
from all of game theory, it’s this:
What the game is, defines what the players do.
Our problem today isn’t just that people are losing trust,
it’s that our environment acts against the evolution of trust.
That may seem cynical or naive — that we’re “merely” products of our environment — but as game theory reminds us, we are each others’ environment. In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it’s us players who define the game.
So, do what you can do, to create the conditions necessary to evolve trust. Build relationships. Find win-wins. Communicate clearly. Maybe then, we can stop firing at each other, get out of our own trenches, cross No Man’s Land to come together…”
“And learn to…”
Play the game and find out.
