"According to whim or taste" implies a conscious entity performing choices according to a free will. This need not be the case. In my mind, random means selected without cause (or without procedure/algorithm).
A lot has been written on randomness, and its problematic nature. I don't for one minute suggest I have anything new to say on the matter. Cheers jamikes wrote: > > Dear Russell and Hal, > this is a naive question, however it goes into the basics of your written > explanations. How would YOU define "random"? I had this problem for a long > long time and never got a satisfactory solution. In my (non Indo-European) > language, Hungarian, there is no exact word for it, it is used as a term > meaning "according to whim or taste" (tetszöleges) - which leaves open that > I may not LIKE the 'random' in question. If you say: a sequence defying all > rules, then it is not random, it is calculable. You have to consider all > rules and cut them out. Is a series of 11111... random? of course it may be. > Is the pi-decimal random? no, because it is a result of calculation. If one > says: "just pick it" that would follow all circumstantial pressure of the > situation, maybe unconsciously, yet defying the 'random'. > > So what is the content you use behind that word? > > I would be surprised if both of you (and others, too) would agree <G>. > Till then I wish you luck to use the word - at random. > > Best wishes > John Mikes > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Russell Standish" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2001 4:36 AM > Subject: Re: Predictions & duplications > >>>>>>>SNIP<<<<<<<<< > > > > That is almost the correct solution, Hal. If we ask what an observer > > will make of a random description chosen at random, then you get > > regular universes with probability exponentially related to the > > inferred complexity. It is far clearer to see what happen when the > > observer is a UTM, forcibly terminating programs after a > > certain number of steps (representing the observer's resource bound) > > (thus all descriptions are halting programs). Then one obtains a > > Solomon-Levy distribution or universal prior. However, this argument > > also works when the observer is not a UTM, but simply a classification > > device of some kind. > > > > The WAP has nothing to do with this issue, except inasmuch as > > universes can only be observed through the eyes of some observer. > > > > Again I reiterate that Juergen's resource-bounded "Great Programmer" > > religion need be nothing but a reflection of our conscious selves stamped > > upon our observations. > > > > Cheers > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > > > Juergen writes: > > > > Some seem to think that the weak anthropic principle explains the > > > > regularity. The argument goes like this: "Let there be a uniform > measure > > > > on all universe histories, represented as bitstrings. Now take the > tiny > > > > subset of histories in which you appear. Although the measure of this > > > > subset is tiny, its conditional measure, given your very existence, > > > > is not: According to the weak anthropic principle, the conditional > > > > probability of finding yourself in a regular universe compatible with > > > > your existence equals 1." > > > > > > > > But it is essential to see that the weak anthropic principle does not > > > > have any predictive power at all. It does not tell you anything about > > > > the future. It cannot explain away futures in which you still exist > > > > but irregular things happen. Only a nonuniform prior can explain this. > > > > > > Isn't this fixed by saying that the uniform measure is not over all > > > universe histories, as you have it above, but over all programs that > > > generate universes? Now we have the advantage that short programs > > > generate more regular universes than long ones, and the WAP grows teeth. > > > > > > Hal Finney > > > > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > Dr. Russell Standish Director > > High Performance Computing Support Unit, Phone 9385 6967, 8308 3119 > (mobile) > > UNSW SYDNEY 2052 Fax 9385 6965, 0425 253119 (") > > Australia [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Room 2075, Red Centre > http://parallel.hpc.unsw.edu.au/rks > > International prefix +612, Interstate prefix 02 > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Russell Standish Director High Performance Computing Support Unit, Phone 9385 6967, 8308 3119 (mobile) UNSW SYDNEY 2052 Fax 9385 6965, 0425 253119 (") Australia [EMAIL PROTECTED] Room 2075, Red Centre http://parallel.hpc.unsw.edu.au/rks International prefix +612, Interstate prefix 02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------