handoflixue comments on 3 Levels of Rationality Verification - Less Wrong

43 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 15 March 2009 05:19PM

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

Comments (182)

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

Comment author: Mario 15 March 2009 05:58:55PM 3 points [-]

I get the feeling that the real problem here is repeatability. It's one thing to design a test for rationality, it's another to design a test that could not be gamed once the particulars are known. Since it probably isn't possible to control the flow of information in that way, the next-best option might be to design a test so that the testing criteria would not be understood except by those who pass.

I'm thinking of a test I heard about years ago. The teacher passes out the test, stressing to the students to read the instructions before beginning. The instructions specify that the answer to every question is C. The actual questions on the test don't matter, of course, but it's a great test of reading comprehension and the ability to follow instructions. Plus, the test is completely repeatable. All of the test questions could leak out, and still only those who deserve to pass would do so. If you are willing to assume that people who pass would not be willing to cheat (unlikely in this test, possible in a rationality test), then you would have an ungameable test.

A rationality test in this model might be one where an impossible task is given, and the correct response would be to not play.

Comment author: handoflixue 15 July 2011 11:28:13PM 1 point [-]

"Psssst, when Mrs. P says to read the instructions, it's because it's a fake test! If you just follow the directions you can get an A without even trying!"

And that is that test ruined for all subsequent classes. People may not read instructions, but they will generally listen to peers highlighting that there is something unusual, or some easy way of cheating. Heck, it might become a weird group wisdom to always answer "C" because the answer scanning machine is broken or something. I've seen weirder in actual work places.