PlaidX comments on The Presumptuous Philosopher's Presumptuous Friend - Less Wrong

3 Post author: PlaidX 05 October 2009 05:26AM

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Comment author: PlaidX 05 October 2009 09:29:09AM 0 points [-]

You can do both this experiment and newcomb without omega, or at least, you can start with a similar, but messier setup and bridge it to the tidy omega version using reasonable steps. But the process is very tedious.

Comment author: taw 05 October 2009 10:49:01AM 0 points [-]

Past discussions indicate quite conclusively that Newcomb is completely unmathematizable as a paradox. Every mathematization becomes trivial one was or the other, and resolves causality loop caused by Omega.

If problems with Omega can be pathological like that, it's a good argument to avoid using Omega unless absolutely necessary (in which case you can rethink if problem is even well stated).

Comment author: wedrifid 05 October 2009 02:46:55PM 0 points [-]

Every mathematization becomes trivial

I would be shocked if it didn't. It's a trivial problem.

Comment author: taw 05 October 2009 04:00:15PM 1 point [-]

Trivial how? Depending on mathematization it collapses to either one-boxing, or two-boxing, depending on how we break the causality loop.

If you decide first, trivially one-box. If Omega decides first, trivially two-box. If you have causality loop, your problem doesn't make any sense.