

Taking the awkwardness out of a Prenup - A Game Theoretic solution - philh
http://lesswrong.com/lw/29w/taking_the_awkwardness_out_of_a_prenup_a_game/

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JoeAltmaier
What a strange article. Only a geek could even think such a thing. "Taking the
awkwardness out"? To find out your impending spouse had signed a contract that
bound them to create an ironclad prenup with you, would mark you as the most
suspicious, manipulative bastard on earth. That relieves the awkwardness of
finding out later I suppose.

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yummyfajitas
How is it manipulative? It is nothing more than binding one's future self to a
certain behavior.

By that same logic it is manipulative of the spouse to attempt to bind your
future self to other behavior (only doing it with her, sharing property, etc).

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JoeAltmaier
You preempt your spouse from any part in the discussion. A spouse is different
from a business partner, in that they are supposed to be party to important
decisions.

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yummyfajitas
Most people do that on all sorts of non-prenup topics (e.g., sex with third
parties, children). What makes a prenup special?

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JoeAltmaier
What? Sign a contract with a 3rd party to avoid any chance of discussion?
Really?

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yummyfajitas
Plenty of people preempt any discussion of certain topics and offer their
spouse a "take it or leave it" choice.

The most common mechanism of doing this is a credible claim of future
emotional reactions ("I wouldn't feel the same way about you if you have sex
with other people"), or perhaps the reactions of third parties ("my mom would
disown me if I married a non-Lutheran"). I don't see what makes this mechanism
so unique.

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JoeAltmaier
Yes of course. But to do it with an elaborate plan, set in motion ahead of
time and sprung on them unexpected, is a species of cold, reptilian logic that
defies rationalization.

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philk
I'm not sure what's so awkward about telling someone that you want a Prenup in
the first place. If you're close enough to someone to consider marrying them
then you're close enough to tell them that you need one.

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marltod
Interesting, However I trust my wife way more than I trust a 'company' that
may or may not get bought by someone that wants to reinterpret my pre-nup to
determine if it is iron clad enough to invalidate their right to half my stuff

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jhuckestein
Neat, I like the example with the chicken game. Game theory is always fun. I
agree, though, that prenups might not be the best application for this.

This comment from the original site is hilarious, too:

"Maybe I should start a startup that requires you to pay a $1000 fee if you do
business with anyone who signs a precommitment contract intended to give them
a negotiating advantage." - Eliezer_Yudkowsky

