The Prisoner's Dilemma

I like Dilemmas. They're fun. They help you find out more about yourself, or even figure out what to change about yourself. I just posted in the topic about the classic trolley dilemma, and it brought to mind another classic problem, not REALLY one about morals, but one about practicality, and trust. Though, I've added an option. I know this makes it not REALLY a dilemma, but a TRILEMMA, but my theory is...well...NOBODY will pick the third option. I may be surprised though.

So, here's the situation: You and one other person, a friend of yours, are prisoners, and the warden of the prison is interrogating both of you individually about a certain crime. The thing is, both of you committed the crime. During your interrogation, the warden says he's done questioning, and you have three options. Rat your friend out, keep quiet, or declare that you committed the crime and the other is innocent. He will be presenting these choices to your friend as well. Here are the punishments/benefits for each choice.

1. If you rat your friend out, you go free, but he spends life in prison.
2. If you keep quiet, both you and your friend spend 10 years in prison.
3. If you rat yourself out, you spend life in prison, but your friend goes free.

Remember, after you make your choice, depending on your choice, he'll give the same choices to your friend.

Which choice do you make?

Edit: ...A - Rep? For what? I think someone's trolling me...

I'd save myself. I've got stuff to do, like break my friend out of prison. Yeaaaah.

Ten years isn't bad..Especially with a friend.

Ten years seems like such a long time to me, but there's no way I could stand putting my friend away for life just to save myself or be in jail for MY whole life.

I would be spending 10 years in prison with my friend. My conscience can't take such option no.1, and i am not that charitable to live in prison for a friend.

Game theory, eh? My friends are all pretty smart and they know that choosing choice 1 never works as both idiots would rat each other out and spend life in prison. We would choose 2, for the Nash Equilibrium.

This dilemma is too easy, you took the consequence to the extreme. Life in prison?

I'd be a shit friend if I ratted him out. I'd rather spend 10 years in prison for my crime with my friend than rat him out and he get life. I'd stay quiet and if I know my friend, so would he. I'm sure he wouldn't want to bear the weight on his shoulders if I got life either.

The one big question I have, is that it was unspecified whether or not the police have any evidence that we did the crime at all. I could easily assume that they don't and, assuming that they don't, then why would we get 10 years for not fessing up, but my friend would get life for me being a snitch or I get life for him snitching me up?

You have unusual alternatives. If I rat my friend out of if I rat myself out, does my friend still get asked to if he wants to rat me out?

The whole description and various possibilities of the Prisonder's dilemma can be read here.

It is not about being a bad person, if you rat someone out. Both person committed a crime, so both persons are not good persons per definition of law. What matters here is if you really, truly, to 100% trust your "friend" or not. If you don't, you'll rat him out.

I'd never commit a crime without a buddy who would spring me. So, rat self out, get the crew to bust me out or get bail.

I'd have to take the 10 years each deal...of course it would also depend on how much my partner was involved, if he played only a small part, and I valued him as a friend, I might take the blame, but that's a very big MIGHT.
*Edit*
After considering it, if I had no trust for my buddy I'd probably rat myself out, unless the guy seemed like a legitimately horrible person, cause odds are he'll rat me out anyway....jerk >.<
That being said, I hope I never have to commit a crime with someone I don't know/trust.

Um, if we both committed it, get both of us in jail.

Derp.

It would depend on who's idea it was, but if we we are equally responsible, I'd play rock-paper-scissors with him to decide who stays in prison.

Depends on the friend. There's only maybe a handful of names that I can honestly say would stick with me on this one. The rest I can't be sure about, so I chose to rat the friend out.

Spend 10 years in prison doesn't seem so bad.

Rat out my friend, meh since there is no chance of his escape and more than likely he'll keep quiet, I can just continue with my life.Besides hes probably not that good of a friend to keep around if he commited a crime with me, more than likely I'll be stuck with him and a record of prison time forever if I do stay.

as other people said; if it's a friend, I would keep quiet.

If this is truly one of my friends, like one of my life long close friends; then i would keep quiet and i imagine he would too.



Jesus the people that vote option 1 are the scum of this earth..

I'd honestly rat myself out. If I stoop so low as to commit a crime, then I should stay in a prison cell since there is no bright future for me outside of the cell. Hell, I'd probably commit the crime just to get into prison.

Okay,if I'm going to make a decision.It would be...
1.First,rat myself out.
2.Beat the warden until he dead/unconscious/you name it.
3.Grab the keys and bust my friend out.
This is what we call,Strategy.
Who wants to leave their best pal who spent ten years together in jail?