Game Theory: Nature or Nurture?
While it is hard to argue with the practical efficiency of game theory, on could ask the question: is it that humans are inherently selfish and thus must find the nash equilibrium, or did a few smart and selfish people convince us that there is no place for altruism on earth? One might wonder if, sans the theoretical hypothesis, an ordinary prisoner would not cooperate with the other and defy the selfishness that game theory is based on. Game theory, really, does govern international policy, perhaps owing to the academic pedigree involved in making the same, but it is largely incapable of influencing everyday living of the average Joe.
Research has found that economic students and professors tend to be more selfish than the general population, and register a rise in selfishness after their studies. Given that economics at its core is based on Adam Smith’s creed that “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest”, it is possible to allude that such abstract ideas of selfishness and strategic thinking are not exactly natural to layman living, and probably that we have learnt to find rationalism in game theory and incorporate in into our lives. An article on evonomics.com records a study in which Israeli Freshmen who intended to study economics rated helpfulness, honesty, loyalty, and responsibility as just as important as students who were studying communications, political science, and sociology. In the same study, third-year economics students, however, rated these values as significantly less important than first-year economics students.
More Evidence That Learning Economics Makes You Selfish