Unknowns comments on Logical Rudeness - Less Wrong

65 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 29 January 2010 06:48AM

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Comment author: Unknowns 29 January 2010 09:21:55PM *  3 points [-]

Ok, but there some random algorithms which cannot be improved by derandomizing, precisely because the random algorithm does just as well as any deterministic algorithm: for example, if there is some event that has an exact 50% chance of happening, all algorithms, random or not, do equally well at guessing whether it will happen or not.

In other words, such a case doesn't satisfy the condition that the algorithm can be "improved by randomizing."

Comment author: Alicorn 29 January 2010 09:28:14PM 3 points [-]

I take it that such an algorithm couldn't be improved in accuracy, but I expect any randomized algorithm would be more cycle-intensive than a constant rule of "guess that event X will happen" - which will perform just as well.