Game Theory Shows Why Selfish Coding Hurts Your Career

Applying iterated prisoner's dilemma to software teams, the article argues that selfish coding—rushing reviews, hoarding knowledge, shipping hacky code—yields short-term gains but destroys trust. Cooperative behaviors like thorough reviews and knowledge sharing compound into faster PRs, fewer bugs, and leadership readiness. The key insight: engineering is a repeated game where reputation and collaboration determine long-term success.