Vladimir_Nesov comments on The Human's Hidden Utility Function (Maybe) - Less Wrong

44 Post author: lukeprog 23 January 2012 07:39PM

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Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 23 January 2012 08:58:34PM *  8 points [-]

Suppose it turned out that humans violate the axioms of VNM rationality (and therefore don't act like they have utility functions) because there are three valuation systems in the brain that make conflicting valuations

Humans violate any given set of axioms simply because they are not formally flawless, so such explanations only start being relevant when discussing an idealization, in this case a descriptive one. But properties of descriptive idealizations don't easily translate into properties of normative idealizations.