mattnewport comments on Beauty quips, "I'd shut up and multiply!" - Less Wrong

6 Post author: neq1 07 May 2010 02:34PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (335)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: mattnewport 07 May 2010 07:06:02PM *  5 points [-]

If you mean something else by probability than "at what odds would you be indifferent to accepting a bet on this proposition" then you need to explain what you mean. You are just coming across as confused. You've already acknowledged that sleeping beauty would be wrong to turn down a 50:50 bet on tails. What proposition is being bet on when you would be correct to be indifferent at 50:50 odds?

Comment author: neq1 07 May 2010 08:44:27PM 0 points [-]

There is a mismatch between the betting question and the original question about probability.

At an awakening, she has no more information about heads or tails than she had originally, but we're forcing her to bet twice under tails. So, even if her credence for heads was a half, she still wouldn't make the bet.

Suppose I am going to flip a coin and I tell you you win $1 if heads and lose $2 if tails. You could calculate that the p(H) would have to be 2/3 in order for this to be a fair bet (have 0 expectation). That doesn't imply that the p(H) is actually 2/3. It's a different question. This is a really important point, a point that I think has caused much confusion.

Comment author: mattnewport 07 May 2010 09:02:00PM 1 point [-]

You seem to agree she should take a 50:50 bet on tails. What would be the form of the bet where she should be indifferent to 50:50 odds? If you can answer this question and explain why you think it is a more relevant probability then you may be able to resolve the confusion.

Roko has already given an example of such a bet: where she only gets one pay out in the tails case. Is this what you are claiming is the more relevant probability? If so, why is this probability more relevant in your estimation?

Comment author: neq1 10 May 2010 02:12:06PM 0 points [-]

Yes, one pay out is the relevant case. The reason is because we are asking about her credence at an awakening.

Comment author: Morendil 10 May 2010 05:11:38PM 1 point [-]

How does the former follow from the latter, exactly? I seem to need that spelled out.

Comment author: neq1 10 May 2010 06:56:48PM 0 points [-]

The interviewer asks about her credence 'right now' (at an awakening). If we want to set up a betting problem based around that decision, why would it involve placing bets on possibly two different days?

If, at an awakening, Beauty really believes that it's tails with credence 0.67, then she would gladly take a single bet of win $1 if tails and lose $1.50 if heads. If she wouldn't take that bet, why should we believe that her credence for heads at an awakening is 1/3?

Comment author: thomblake 07 May 2010 08:48:24PM 1 point [-]

Do you think this analysis works for the fact that a well-calibrated Beauty answers "1/3"? Do you think there's a problem with our methods of judging calibration?

Comment author: timtyler 10 May 2010 06:39:56AM 0 points [-]

What do you think the word "credence" means? I am thinking that perhaps that is the cause of your problems.

Comment author: neq1 10 May 2010 02:17:48PM 0 points [-]

I'm treating credence for heads as her confidence in heads, as expressed as a number between 0 and 1 (inclusive), given everything she knows at the time. I see it as the same things as a posterior probability.

I don't think disagreement is due to different uses of the word credence. It appears to me that we are all talking about the same thing.