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Equation 14 · Part 3 · Why We Punish Strangers: The Evolution of Human Cooperation

subtraction

1−x−y1 - x - y
subtraction

What this part means

Subtract the following term or group from the preceding one. A leading minus marks a negative quantity.

Its job in the formula

Subtract the following term or group from the preceding one. A leading minus marks a negative quantity.

The passage around this formula

which falls as the residual pool of defectors, 1 - x - y , shrinks. Once a group happens to reach a state where

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Learn the underlying idea

Addition combines quantities; subtraction measures the signed difference between them. Parentheses show what is combined before the rest of the expression is evaluated.

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Sources cited in the article section

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