Scott examines why early Christianity's strategy of unconditional cooperation succeeded despite game theory predicting it should fail, and explores what this means for modern moral strategies. Longer summary

Scott explores the paradox of early Christianity's success despite following a COOPERATE-BOT strategy (always cooperate, even with enemies) rather than the game-theoretically optimal TIT-FOR-TAT strategy (cooperate first, then mirror opponent's last move). He analyzes historical examples like the Quakers and compares them to modern liberalism, then presents several theories for why COOPERATE-BOT might sometimes succeed against expectations. While he remains personally skeptical of fully embracing COOPERATE-BOT, he notes that history seems to favor extremely cooperative strategies more than game theory would predict. Shorter summary

Scott reviews 'Albion's Seed' by David Fischer, exploring how four British cultural groups that settled colonial America shaped regional cultures and may still influence modern US political divisions. Longer summary

This post reviews David Fischer's book 'Albion's Seed', which examines four distinct British cultural groups that settled different regions of colonial America: the Puritans in New England, the Cavaliers in Virginia, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, and the Borderers in Appalachia. Scott explores how these groups' distinct values and practices shaped American regional cultures and may still influence modern political divisions. He discusses interesting facts about each group and speculates on how their legacies might relate to current 'Blue Tribe' and 'Red Tribe' cultural divides in the US. The post ends by wrestling with the implications of deep-rooted cultural differences for democracy and national unity. Shorter summary