Like everyone else, I went out to see The Dark Knight this weekend. I had just spent the week in LA talking to a lot of people in the movie business about piracy. We waited in line for over an hour and spending a total 0f $60 on tickets and various overpriced snacks, which reaffirmed my belief that Hollywood is going to be just fine. But I would have happily paid twice as much had I known the film was going to be as amazing as it was, and such an eloquent explanation of the fundamental problem with the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

Towards the end of the film The Joker rigs two passenger-filled ferries with explosives (please look away now if you didn’t already see it). The first ferry is filled with upstanding citizens of Gotham. The second contains the most dangerous inmates from Gotham Prison. The Joker has wired each ship with explosives, and left the detonator for each ship on the other ferry. Game theorists in movie theaters everywhere dropped their popcorn - a prisoner’s dilemma with real live prisoners! And Batman!!!

For a great rundown (and some serious maths), see The Quantitative Peace’s discussion: “The use of the detonator saves the ship while killing everyone aboard the opposing ship. Thus, if any member of Ship A pushes the detonator, then Ship B is destroyed and all of Ship A is saved. Additionally, if either ship fails to use the detonator to destroy its opponent, then both ships will be destroyed by the Joker. Assuming that the actors must make their decision simultaneously, this would lead to the following game:”

The Joker is convinced one ship will blow up the other, but he makes a huge mistake. He assumes that humans are rational, and only act in their own self interest. As a society we often subscribe—in theory, at least—to this idea. This theory has been a dominant force in economics, political science, military strategy, psychology, and many other disciplines since the 1950s. It has informed some of the most important decisions the human race has ever made, from the nuclear arms race of the Cold War to the way we share all kinds of resources today. This simple game of two prisoners trying to make decisions based on what the other will do helped shape the structure behind the supposedly dog-eat-dog world we live in.

But in practice the game is flawed. The most basic assumption—that we all act only in our own self-interest—is simply not true. When econo¬mists test this theory, real people do not always act this way. In real life, in every corner of society, people cooperate with one another in the interest of both the public good and their own private interest. That’s why we have nonprofits, nurses, and teachers. If prisoners really thought it was okay to rat on each other all the time, Stop Snitchin’ T-shirts would not exist.

In fact the only rational human beings who only act in their own self-interest are most likely certifiably insane, as indeed The Joker is - which is what makes this movie such a perfect place for this story. But I thought he was smart enough to realize the rest of us play by different rules. Batman understands this, so he rightly guesses that neither ship will blow up the other and beats The Joker. The only way The Joker might have beaten Batman would be by filling at least one boat with exclusively self-interested people, such as the economically rational residents of Arkham Asylum.

This plot line was a really clever way to explain the flaw in the simple Prisoner’s Dilemma game, but it also explained something else about Game Theory beautifully – the importance of diversity. In the movie the diversity is shown in the very different opinions of the prisoners on both ferries about whether or not they should blow up the other ship. In the simple Prisoner’s Dilemma game you only see the prisoners understanding the benefit of cooperating after they have played it a few times, the diversity of ideas about the best thing to do only emerges after a number of games have been played.

But in real life, diversity is key to how we think about these decisions and tackle complex problems. Economic models are useful for sure, but they don’t take into account the diversity of the real world or the human experience. In the Pirate’s Dilemma, people always end up competing with pirates (assuming those pirates are adding value to society in some way) in the long run because cooperating with what society wants is always the best option, fighting is a losing battle. But in the short term it’s difficult for many companies and individuals to see the value in that strategy. For those interested in more on the problems with Game Theory and how they affect all of us, check out The Trap, a great three-part documentary by Adam Curtis, check the intro below, or click here for it on google video.

I’ll be out in LA all next week in connection with this whole TV thing (see below), and on Wednesday I’ll be delivering a speech at CAA. I’ll be talking about the TV idea I’ve been working on with Jesse Alexander (who is very kindly introducing me), and what Hollywood can do to compete with pirates.

It’s free to get in, and it should be a good one, including (at least) 33% new material. All you need do is RSVP to curious@caa.com, but get there early, capacity is limited to 300 people. Give me a shout if you need any more info.

Since Pirate’s launched I’ve been talking to a few people about doing something on TV or on screen with the book. A few months back Mark Kotlinski and John Carluccio from Current TV did a piece on it, and I really hit it off with them. A while later I had the good fortune to meet Jesse Alexander out in LA, the Executive Producer of Heroes, who also had some amazing ideas for it. So John, Mark, Jesse and I got together to produce the short piece above, just for kicks, just to see how it might work. Let us know what you think…

Kid Rock has been making some noise about piracy this week, first at a concert and now with a PSA. I’ve always had a soft spot for Kid Rock - he was one of the first acts I worked on at Atlantic Records many years ago. In fact I still have a Kid Rock bottle opener on my key chain. But I think he’s got this argument all wrong.

He started out the week making some thoughtful remarks, telling to the BBC, “Back in the day, we all know the stories of the Otis Reddings and Chuck Berrys and Fats Dominos who never got paid… the internet was an opportunity for everyone to be treated fairly, for the consumer to get a fair price, for the artist to be paid fairly, for the record companies to make some money.” But they stuck to the “old system”, he continued. “I will be on iTunes eventually because I can’t avoid it, but I like to always stick to my guns and prove a point.”

But he then goes on to miss the point completely, saying “I don’t mind people stealing my music, that’s fine - but I think they should steal everything.” And followed up with the PSA below.

I don’t get it. He goes from making some important points about the music industry to freetard statements about stealing everything. I can’t tell if he’s trying to be sarcastic, but he sounds like it. The point here is not that stealing is right and property is wrong, a statement I’m often wrongly accused of making by reviewers and journalists who also missed the point. Companies ripping people off, or people ripping off companies, are not the only two options. There are many shades of grey. This problem with information is not an open and shut case, it’s a dilemma. Will send him a book post haste…

is that although laws are getting tougher pretty much all over the Western world, quietly our definition of fair use is expanding.

Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, just released Feed The Animals, his latest tapestry of music that shouldn’t work but somehow does (Even ODB over Come On Eileen seems to make sense). No cease and desist letters have gone out yet.

Last year Soulja Boy’s Crank Dat was huge, and spawned a slew of user generated videos featuring cartoon characters lip-synching along. Shrek, Dora, Mario, Spongebob, Cartman and many others got super-manned by fans. Every major Hollywood studio had at least one of their cartoon franchises ripped off, but not one of them bothered to issue a cease and desist notice.

Yes, many law-makers and politicians are making some bad decisions about copyright. But culture has shifted regardless. Our definitions of fair use and copyright have changed in our minds already, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

I think this battle is already won.

It’s been in the works for sometime now, but today is the day we have finally been able to make the book available for free online. Both my English language publishers (Simon & Schuster in the U.S. and Penguin in the U.K.) agreed we should release the book free online after the UK launch was out of the way, and that time is now.

Click here to get yours.

Thanks Cat!

The Guardian used a piece I wrote for them on piracy as the front cover for this weekend’s Guide - love the job they did reinterpreting the book’s UK front cover. Had a great week promoting the book in London, check the Guardian piece here.

Trent Reznor has just released the new Nine Inch Nails album for free. Get yourself a copy here.

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

I love, love, LOVE this!