Sunday, January 28, 2007
More thoughts on the prisoner's dilemma. Uchicago notes.
The optimal strategy in prisoner's dilemma games is cooperate, then retaliate. Cooperate in a first move, then respond as the opponent did. Alexrod, the Evolution of Cooperation.
My own strategy seems to be, "slow boil." Forgive, forgive, forgive, massively retaliate.
Something like that. This relates to contract performance, and being a landlord who lives in the ghetto. I make contracts with people. Sometimes formal, sometimes informal. I expect people to honor their contracts, and I generally honor my own. I was raised that way. If I'm not meeting someone's expectations under a contract, it's usually because there's some dispute about the terms.
Here in the ghetto, it's "efficient breach" - break a contract any time it suits, and be willing to pay the costs of breach if compelled.
Somebody agrees to pay rent, or borrow an item, or ask a small favor.
They fail to pay the rent on time, don't return the item or the favor. How hardass should I be about immediately trying to collect? Uusally, I'll be patient, and extend a reasonable time, with or without late fees, and up the price of future transactions based on the lowered credit rating, or just refuse to deal in future transactions.
Currently, I have two nonpaying renters, from whom I'm getting occasional favors in lieu of formal rent on which they are behind. For example my roommate is spending today putting in windows broken by other former tenants, because he's late with the rent and doesn't want to be evicted into 13 degree weather. he has a poor track record of ever repaying back rent,and a good story about how he will have the money soon.
I have two former renters who stole stuff of mine, broke windows, promised to return the stuff and haven't. Do I a) call the cops b) put a price on their head to my underworld connections c) do nothing yet?
So far I've been doing c) nothing yet. Slow boil. Forgive forgive forgive massively retaliate.
I'll want to spend some time this year evaluating my strategy, trying to optimize it, trying to do a better job of building in safeguards against non-performance.
The optimal strategy in prisoner's dilemma games is cooperate, then retaliate. Cooperate in a first move, then respond as the opponent did. Alexrod, the Evolution of Cooperation.
My own strategy seems to be, "slow boil." Forgive, forgive, forgive, massively retaliate.
Something like that. This relates to contract performance, and being a landlord who lives in the ghetto. I make contracts with people. Sometimes formal, sometimes informal. I expect people to honor their contracts, and I generally honor my own. I was raised that way. If I'm not meeting someone's expectations under a contract, it's usually because there's some dispute about the terms.
Here in the ghetto, it's "efficient breach" - break a contract any time it suits, and be willing to pay the costs of breach if compelled.
Somebody agrees to pay rent, or borrow an item, or ask a small favor.
They fail to pay the rent on time, don't return the item or the favor. How hardass should I be about immediately trying to collect? Uusally, I'll be patient, and extend a reasonable time, with or without late fees, and up the price of future transactions based on the lowered credit rating, or just refuse to deal in future transactions.
Currently, I have two nonpaying renters, from whom I'm getting occasional favors in lieu of formal rent on which they are behind. For example my roommate is spending today putting in windows broken by other former tenants, because he's late with the rent and doesn't want to be evicted into 13 degree weather. he has a poor track record of ever repaying back rent,and a good story about how he will have the money soon.
I have two former renters who stole stuff of mine, broke windows, promised to return the stuff and haven't. Do I a) call the cops b) put a price on their head to my underworld connections c) do nothing yet?
So far I've been doing c) nothing yet. Slow boil. Forgive forgive forgive massively retaliate.
I'll want to spend some time this year evaluating my strategy, trying to optimize it, trying to do a better job of building in safeguards against non-performance.
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