take the original problem literally, one blink and THAT'S IT
Every election is stolen one vote at a time.
My version has an obvious solution (no torture),
My version has also an obvious solution - choosing not to inflict disutility on 3^^^3 people.
and the impact has to be carefully calculated based on its probability,
That's the useful thing about having such an absurdly large number as 3^^^3. We don't really need to calculate it, "3^^^3" just wins. And if you feel it doesn't win, then 3^^^^3 would win. Or 3^^^^^3. Add as many carets as you feel are necessary.
while yours has to be analyzed in detail for every possible potential pile up,
Thinking whether the world would be better or worse if everyone decided as you did, is really one of the fundamental methods of ethics, not a random bizarre scenario I just concocted up for this experiment.
Point is: If everyone decided as you would, it would pile up, and universes would be doomed to blindness. If everyone decided as I would, they would not pile up.
That's the useful thing about having such an absurdly large number as 3^^^3. We don't really need to calculate it, "3^^^3" just wins.
At this level, so many different low-probability factors come into play (e.g. blinking could be good for you because it reduces incidence of eye problems in some cases), that "choosing not to inflict disutility" relies on an unproven assumption that utility of blinking is always negative, no exceptions.
I reject unproven assumptions as torture justifications.
Today's post, Torture vs. Dust Specks was originally published on 30 October 2007. A summary (taken from the LW wiki):
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