Continuing with my last post...
On Fri, Jan 10, 2003 at 08:54:38PM -0800, Tim May wrote:
> Why would there be any reason to try to maximize the utility of this
> "big picture"?
>
> For those of us who don't even strive for "the greatest good for the
> greatest number" in a single-branch universe
On Fri, Jan 10, 2003 at 08:54:38PM -0800, Tim May wrote:
> But in this, the only universe I will ever, ever have contact with, I
> optimize as best I can. And I assume all the myriad mes are doing the
> same in their universes, forever disconnected from mine.
You're taking the question too perso
Tim May:
> (Again, I currently have no pet theory of what Reality is. But I'm
> happy to be building a base of tools to be able to more intelligently
> comment later. Having a pet theory is not so important.)
The best definition, imo, is:
"Reality is that which,
when you stop believing in it,
doe
Interleaving...
POINT 1
For example, "truth" is defined in formal logic with respect to,
again, formal models with an infinite
number of formal symbols in them. It is not defined with respect
to some vague "correspondence" with external reality.
Actually, science is just about such corr
On Saturday, January 11, 2003, at 01:39 AM, Eric Hawthorne wrote:
This strict "anonymous symbols" interpretation
is how one must treat formal logic and propositions
expressed in formal logic too. Every time
I read someone bemoaning how logic has difficulty with
expressing "what is going to happ
Re: possible worlds in logic.
Logic (and its possible worlds semantics)
says nothing (precise) about external reality.
Logic only says something about the relationship of
symbols in a formal language.
Remember that the reason non-sloppy mathematicians
use non-meaningful variable-names (i.e. ter
On Friday, January 10, 2003, at 08:54 PM, Tim May wrote:
Wei suggested that in the context of a many-worlds universe (not just
the quantum MWI but even for a broader set of possibilities), you
might
not make this same decision. You know that when the coin flips, the
universe is going to effe
On Friday, January 10, 2003, at 05:21 PM, Hal Finney wrote:
Conventional decision theory is designed to handle exactly this sort
of situation. According to those principles, you would act to maximize
your expected utility. Since you get more utility from an apple than
from an orange, and the c
With regard to the question of the significance or impact of the MWI,
this is where Wei Dai's emphasis on the importance of decision theory
comes in. The question is, are there things we would rationally do
differently if we knew that all possible worlds existed, things that
would be irrational in
On Friday, January 10, 2003, at 12:34 PM, George Levy wrote:
This is a reply to Eric Hawthorne and Tim May.
(Tim comment: the quoted text below is partly a mix of my comments and
partly George's.)
Lastly, like most "many worlds" views, the same calculations apply
whether one thinks in ter
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