novalis comments on St. Petersburg Mugging Implies You Have Bounded Utility - Less Wrong

10 Post author: TimFreeman 07 June 2011 03:06PM

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Comment author: novalis 07 June 2011 04:22:21PM 0 points [-]

Couldn't I just believe with equal probability that you are a god and will do exactly the opposite?

Comment author: CarlShulman 07 June 2011 04:30:44PM 5 points [-]

You have independent knowledge of psychology, evolution, game theory, etc, (and hypotheses under which they matter, in which the being with vast power evolved naturally and then discovered that physics in its universe allowed unbounded acquisition of free energy to generate apparent worlds like ours, etc) it would be an extraordinary coincidence if those probabilities were really exactly equal (unless one were engaged in motivated cognition to avoid the issue by any means whatsoever; this not necessary, as no one can force you to act like you have an unbounded utility function if you don't have one).

Comment author: novalis 07 June 2011 06:48:49PM 3 points [-]

Both probabilities are well below the threshold at which I can distinguish them by any means I know of. Both are also below the probability that I should instead take Pascal's wager and become a Christian instead so as to gain unbounded utility the old-fashioned way.

In fact, I don't have an unbounded utility function anyway, so my money is safe.