088 - Negotiations
Isn’t it ridiculous in a cute way, how all negotiations follow the same pattern Paul and Benoit are exercising above?
Oldfashioned, predictable, should be extinct - the T. rex of arbitration tactics. And still, here we are, with this kind of thing happening daily all over the world. The final enigma of game theory. No matter where both parties start with their demands, they always come together at the middle.
In the end, it’s our brain’s wetware that’s messing up the game theory. For how polite would it be to stubbornly not step down from your position? And at the same time, everybody knows this strange, uncomfortable feeling when you have watered down your optimal negotiation strategy because of politeness. Almost like betraying yourself.
So in a way, your brain is working for the other side. But is this cerebral illoyalty really such a bad thing? It’s probably the difference between a sane man and a monster. Or ist it, Dr. Lecter?