Jonathan_Graehl comments on Revisiting the Anthropic Trilemma II: axioms and assumptions - Less Wrong

4 Post author: Stuart_Armstrong 16 February 2011 09:42AM

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Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 17 February 2011 10:07:41PM *  0 points [-]

"No intrinsic value in the number of copies" - perhaps I misread that, then? I admit I didn't think through the implications of the axioms along with you, since I felt like the first was questionable.

Comment author: Stuart_Armstrong 17 February 2011 10:38:06PM 0 points [-]

It means that I don't derive extra utility from having specifically one, three or 77 copies. So I don't say "hey, I have three copies, adding one more would be a tragedy! I don't want to have four copies - four is an unlucky number."

It doesn't mean that I don't derive extra utility from having many copies and all of them being happy.

Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 18 February 2011 01:16:16AM 0 points [-]

Maybe you mean "(my) utility as a function of how many copies (of 'me') there are (all in happy-enough situations) is [strictly] monotone". Otherwise I don't follow. This "special numbers with intrinsic value" concept is cumbersome.

Comment author: Stuart_Armstrong 18 February 2011 12:13:46PM 0 points [-]

I don't like it either, and it may not be needed. (and I don't need the "strictly monotone"; that's a conclusion of the the axioms). I'll have to recast it all formally to check whether its needed.