👉 Lodging math is a concept in game theory that describes how players might adjust their strategies to appear cooperative, even when it's not in their best interest to do so. In the context of lodging, imagine two players, A and B, who can choose to either lodge (commit) to a future cooperative action or not. Player A might lodge if they believe that by doing so, they can influence Player B to cooperate in the future. However, lodging is effective only if Player B has a strong preference for cooperation and is willing to forgive past defections. If Player B values future cooperation highly, they might accept a lower current payoff from Player A (the lodged action) in exchange for the assurance of future cooperation. The effectiveness of lodging hinges on factors like the discount factor (how much players value future payoffs), the credibility of the lodger, and the potential for repeated interactions. If these conditions are met, lodging can help align players' strategies and foster cooperation over time.
