http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=97779

This article from the Turkish Daily News compares a current, controversial topic occurring in Turkish society to the prisoner’s dilemma zero-sum game. The discussion is about the ramifications of the move to lift a ban nationwide on students wearing head-covering scarves on university campuses. The article begins by describing what a polarizing issue this has become, with almost everyone in Turkey taking a side and there being little gray area concerning the matter. The article then begins to relate the issue to game theory by describing the two sides: the argument for the ban being lifted was to prevent female students who chose to wear the headscarf from being victimized, but the other side of the issue is the concern that now female students who choose to continue not wearing the headscarf will become victims. The next part of the article has a brief overview of game theory, in particular zero-sum games and the prisoner’s dilemma game. The author concludes about the game that being selfish and acting in one’s own self-interest is the dominant strategy for both players, and by both players acting in accordance with their dominant strategies the net gain for both sides is zero.

The connection between this article and the course is the discussion of game theory and in particular the prisoner’s dilemma. The article connects a well-known game to a relevant and incendiary social issue. In particular, the article focuses on one of the key principles of the theory: that people involved in the game will act in their own self-interest, or the “dominant strategies” that were discussed in the course. The author deduces that the best solution for everyone cannot be reached if everyone acts in accordance with this principle. The conclusion to the article is really the most insightful part, where the author argues that the only way to solve the problem is for society to overcome its tendency to act selfishly and that trusting the other side is the only way to achieve a positive outcome. The article concludes by stating that the two factions in Turkey are like the two prisoner’s in separate rooms and that they must trust each other in order to achieve a non-zero sum, otherwise both sides will suffer.