Jonathan_Graehl comments on Logical Rudeness - Less Wrong

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

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Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 29 January 2010 09:10:06PM 5 points [-]

In that particular case, Eliezer was exaggerating

I suppose that must have happened sometime, but next time you find yourself postulating this as part of an explanation, please stop, notice, and feel a little confused.

Actually, that goes for everyone in this thread deconstructing my supposed mistake, based on (a) a misquotation (b) not realizing that every algorithm which can be "improved by randomizing" can in fact be improved further by derandomizing (except in cases where an intelligent opponent can predict a given set of bits if they are produced by a "deterministic" process, but not predict the same bits if they are produced by a "random" process). I sometimes make mistakes, but I also sometimes don't, and if you can hold both possibilities in mind without it destroying your internal critic, it will probably help in the long run.

Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 29 January 2010 10:47:34PM 1 point [-]

Eliezer:

the claim was that when you can improve an algorithm by randomizing it, you can improve it further by derandomizing it

Unknowns:

randomness wasn't necessary in order to achieve the best result, not that it is always possible to achieve a result better than what randomness achieves

I think a claim that a randomized algorithm is never better than some deterministic one is interesting and probably true (possibly not, which is why it's interesting). Is Eliezer really making an even stronger claim than this? Is any precise claim being made? The meaning of "improving an algorithm by adding (or removing) randomization" is pretty vague. Improving in what way? Isn't any non-randomized algorithm technically a member of "randomized algorithms"? If not, can't it be made technically randomized at no asymptotic cost?