Complexity Explorer Santa Few Institute

Introduction to Complexity (2021)

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8.1 Welcome to Unit 8 » Welcome to Unit 8 from Instructor Santiago Guisasola

Hello everybody,

Welcome to Unit 8, Cooperation in Social Systems! Here you will learn about two famous games, El Farol and the Prisoner's Dilemma. Something to know: the El Farol problem is inspired by the real El Farol Bar in Santa Fe.

The El Farol problem is a situation where a crowd is good, but only to a point. A party is fun with a lot of people, but not too many people. 

The Prisoner's Dilemma is the classic model for a situation where cooperation, although good for the group, gets beat by individual incentives to defect. This ultimately leads the group to a sub-optimal outcome.

Games in general are fascinating and put a shape to many of the social interactions we observe in nature. I hope you enjoy!

Best,
Santiago