Equation 9 · Part 1 · Why We Punish Strangers: The Evolution of Human Cooperation
Symbol c
What this part means
the call it.
Its job in the formula
c is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Full expression→Symbol c→Article meaning
Where the article explains it
A plain cooperator who does not punish pays a fixed cost, call it c , simply by cooperating, regardless of how many other group members defect.
The passage around this formula
…to punish, a “second-order” free-rider problem sitting on top of the first [ 9 ] . Their proposed way out rests on an asymmetry between the two roles. A plain cooperator who does not punish pays a fixed cost, call it c , simply by cooperating, regardless of how many other group members defect. A punisher, by contrast, only pays a punishment cost when there is actually a defector present to punish, so as defectors become rare within a group, the punisher’s fitness disadvantage relative to a non-punishing…
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Sources cited in the surrounding passage
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