Biologists Find Evolution Favors Strategic Cooperation and Selfishness

Professor of Biology Joshua Plotkin and post-doc Alexander J. Stewart last year published a mathematical explanation of the evolution of cooperation and generosity in nature through the use of the Prisoner’s Dilemma in game theory.

In new findings, to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Plotkin and Stewart found that when the Prisoner’s Dilemma is played in a large, evolving population with variations in available payoffs, selfish strategies can be more successful. The research presents a grimmer but more realistic view of how cooperation and selfishness operate in nature.

Read the full story here.

Arts & Sciences News

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