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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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Both [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are agonizing over what to get each other for Valentine's Day. Both of them seem to have a similar mindset towards the holiday: that it's arbitrary, imposes a set of demands and expectations, and is used by corporations to mandate consumerism. At the same time, both are aware that rituals and social expectations are important to other people, and so are torn between their distaste at following contrived rules and their concerns about being inconsiderate.  
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Both [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are agonizing over what to get each other for Valentine's Day. Both panic and do weird things. At the heart of the way they are acting is the {{w|prisoner's dilemma}}, which [[696|has been referenced before]] in xkcd.
  
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In the 6th frame, Megan worries that Cueball might get her something and be hurt if she didn't reciprocate, explictly referencing the {{w|prisoner's dilemma}}. This dilemma is a classic thought experiment in game theory, in which two accused criminals are given the opportunity to testify against one another, but not allowed to communicate. The offer is set up so that the best total outcome for both prisoners is if neither testifies. But each individual prisoner, not knowing what the other will choose, may personally benefit from turning on the other (or give away this advantage if they, alone, choose not to). In a similar way, Megan and Cueball might both be most satisfied if neither buys a gift, but neither wants to take the risk of looking inconsiderate (and apparently aren't open to communicating about it).
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The prisoner's dilemma is a canonical example of a game analyzed in {{w|game theory}} that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so. Wikipedia has a great example of prisoner's dilemma, which illustrates it very well:
  
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The ultimate resolution is that neither gets the other a conventional gift. Cueball buys Easter candy (candy is a common Valentine's day gift, but the Easter theme makes it less cliche) and a jar of hammers, which clearly isn't an expected romantic gift. Megan panicked and, even more inexplicably, staples her hand to her face. There's something sweet in the fact that they're both equally befuddled by this social ritual, but they recognize that they've been badly overthinking what should be a fairly simple interaction.  
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:Two men are arrested, but the police do not possess enough information for a conviction. Following the separation of the two men, the police offer both a similar deal—if one testifies against his partner (defects/betrays), and the other remains silent (cooperates/assists), the betrayer goes free and the cooperator receives the full one-year sentence. If both remain silent, both are sentenced to only one month in jail for a minor charge. If each 'rats out' the other, each receives a three-month sentence. Each prisoner must choose either to betray or remain silent; the decision of each is kept quiet. What should they do?
  
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The title text combines the two dilemma scenarios in an absurd juxtaposition, with the reader ("you") choosing with one person choosing not to get a gift (from the Valentine's Dilemma) and the other choosing to testify in a criminal case (from the prisoner's dilemma).
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In this way, both Cueball and Megan are kept separate, each not knowing what the other is going to do for Valentine's Day in the Valentine Dilemma as it is named in the title of this comic. And both do weird things for Valentine's Day, which ends up being the perfect result to the Valentine Dilemma as both end up with the same level of weirdness and don't go for the grand gesture.
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The Prisoner's Dilemma has been referenced before, in [[696: Strip Games]].
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Cueball standing with hand on chin.]
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:[Cueball standing with hand to mouth.]
 
:Cueball: Flowers seem so... trite. Something homemade? Easy to look halfhearted.
 
:Cueball: Flowers seem so... trite. Something homemade? Easy to look halfhearted.
  
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:[A frame-less panel of Megan sitting at a computer, also with hand on chin.]
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:[Megan sitting at a computer.]
 
:Megan: Valentine's day is a corporate construct.
 
:Megan: Valentine's day is a corporate construct.
 
:Megan: But hard to opt out of.
 
:Megan: But hard to opt out of.
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:[Cueball pacing.]
 
:[Cueball pacing.]
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:Cueball: How do I fight cliché? I could get her a gift on a ''different'' day.
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:Cueball: How do I fight cliche? I could get her a gift on a ''different'' day.
 
:Cueball: But what am I proving?
 
:Cueball: But what am I proving?
  
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:[Megan leaning back with stapler in hand.]
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:[Megan leaning back with laptop in hand.]
 
:Megan: It's such a contrived ritual. But maybe rituals are necessary social glue.
 
:Megan: It's such a contrived ritual. But maybe rituals are necessary social glue.
  
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:[Zoomed in on Cueball panicking.]
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:[Cueball panicking.]
 
:Cueball: Forty presents. No, ''none!'' No, give her five items and then steal two from her.
 
:Cueball: Forty presents. No, ''none!'' No, give her five items and then steal two from her.
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:Cueball: OK, breathe. Keep it together.
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:Cueball: OK, breathe, keep it together.
  
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:[Zoomed in on Megan sweating, still holding the stapler.]
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:[Megan sweating.]
 
:Megan: And what if he gets me something and I don't reciprocate?
 
:Megan: And what if he gets me something and I don't reciprocate?
 
:Megan: Prisoners dilemma!
 
:Megan: Prisoners dilemma!
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:Megan: AAAAAAAAAA!!
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:Megan: ''AAAAAAAAAA!!''
  
 
:[Cueball and Megan talking. Cueball is holding a basket and a jar of hammers. Megan's hand is stapled to her face.]
 
:[Cueball and Megan talking. Cueball is holding a basket and a jar of hammers. Megan's hand is stapled to her face.]
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:Cueball: I got you Easter candy and a jar of hammers.
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:Cueball: I got you Easter candy and a jar of hammers.  
 
:Megan: I panicked and stapled my hand to my face.
 
:Megan: I panicked and stapled my hand to my face.
 
:Cueball: We overthought this.
 
:Cueball: We overthought this.
 
:Megan: Yes.
 
:Megan: Yes.
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{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

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