Later, Scientists Determined That Geeks Rule!

A Harvard University study had 100 college students in and around Boston play more than 8,000 rounds of a version of the game "prisoner's dilemma" with dimes. "Prisoner's Dilemma" is the one where two prisoners are separated and have two options: they can either cooperate or not. If both cooperate, they both win (in this case, one dime). If both "defect," neither gets anything. If one cooperates and one defects, the cooperative one lost twenty cents and the one who bolted gets 30.

In the Harvard study, they added another twisht. The player had the option to punish one of the ones who didn't cooperate, and that person would have to pay 40 cents. The catch was, the punisher had to pay a dime to inflict the punishment.

The study found that the player who punished others LEAST often, or not at all, won the MOST money. The ones who punished the MOST made the least.

I'm thinking there's a lesson for Dick Cheney in here somewhere.