momothefiddler comments on Delayed Gratification vs. a Time-Dependent Utility Function - Less Wrong

2 Post author: momothefiddler 06 May 2012 12:32AM

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

Comments (57)

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

Comment author: momothefiddler 08 May 2012 03:11:57AM 0 points [-]

Hm. If people have approximately-equivalent utility functions, does that help them all accomplish their utility better? If so, it makes sense to have none of them value stealing (since having all value stealing could be a problem). In a large enough society, though, the ripple effect of my theft is negligible. That's beside the point, though.

"Avoid death" seems like a pretty good basis for a utility function. I like that.

Comment author: Alerus 08 May 2012 03:00:22PM 1 point [-]

Yeah I agree that the ripple effect of your personal theft would be negligible. I see it as similar to littering. You do it in a vacuum, no big deal, but when many have that mentality, it causes problems. Sounds like you agree too :-)