New at Reason

December 8, 2006

Ronald Bailey discovers the distance that reputation and punishment go in explaining human behavior.

Comments

Warren|12.8.06 @ 9:12AM|#

eBay

Larry A|12.8.06 @ 12:32PM|#

This could totally lead to global free trade, if we had any governments with a good reputation.

|12.8.06 @ 12:53PM|#

I'm sorry not to see this artical discussed more widely. Maybe it was just the topic of the posting, but man, this is a great piece. Sereiously, Ron, good article. I would not have been aware of the study you mentioned had I not read this, and that's exactly why I always come back to these pages. 'tis what Reason is all about!

|12.8.06 @ 12:54PM|#

I am also apologetic for my awful fat fingering and typos. ;)

|12.8.06 @ 1:25PM|#

A nifty study.

Another related piece...

"One of the primary ways that humans--indeed all primates--acquire territory is through "contests," or war. By sharing the costs of war, as well as its benefits, a group of altruists typically outnumbers and therefore defeats a less cohesive band of individuals. Thus, whereas individual natural selection would argue for the rise of the selfish, larger group dynamics showcase the triumph of the altruists. This latter type of selection also relies on that group sharing a large proportion of similar genes, because, in that case, altruists' genetic material persists in some form if they sacrifice themselves for others in war. This is the solution offered by Darwin in The Descent of Man and Bowles in a paper published in the December 8 Science."

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=5F489402-E7F2-99DF-38D34562DB09D0D5

|12.8.06 @ 5:00PM|#

Why not leave these posts -- writing witty one-liners for new Reason essays -- to Weigel, and let Radley, who just isn't as good at them, concentrate on more important things?

|12.9.06 @ 10:30PM|#

My wife has spotted a serious ommision. Try this change: before the 'game', the referee gets together with all the players but one and names him the Designated Scapegoat. His account is always short, the 'punishments' he gives out are randomly disregarded, and he rarely gets reputation points. Ought to make for an interesting game.