Jack comments on Newcomb's problem happened to me - Less Wrong

37 Post author: Academian 26 March 2010 06:31PM

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Comment author: Jack 31 March 2010 03:15:01AM *  0 points [-]

Even if that assumption is fair (since it obviously isn't true I'm not sure why we would make it**) we're still entering the scenario too early. It's like being told Omega is going to offer you the boxes a year before he does. Jack now has the opportunity to precommit, but Omega doesn't give you that chance.

** I'm sure glad my girlfriend isn't a superintelligence that can predict my actions with perfect accuracy! Am I right guys?!

Comment author: Nick_Tarleton 31 March 2010 03:28:02AM *  0 points [-]

Point taken; the similarity is somewhat distant. (I made that assumption to show the problem's broadly Newcomblike structure, since I wrongly read JGWeissman as saying that the problem never had Newcomblike structure. But as you say, there is another, more qualitative difference.)