shminux comments on Have you changed your mind lately? On what? - Less Wrong

25 Post author: Emile 04 June 2012 07:54PM

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Comment author: shminux 05 June 2012 09:18:05PM 0 points [-]

Are you saying that you are OK with having x stabbed toes being incommensurate with torture, but x+1 being commensurate ? This would be a very peculiar utility function.

Comment author: Manfred 06 June 2012 01:17:19AM *  1 point [-]

Yes, that is what I am saying. One can deduce from this that I don't find it so peculiar.

To be clear, this doesn't reflect at all what goes on in my personal decision-making process, since I'm human. However, I don't find it any stranger than, say, having torture be arbitrarily 3^3^2 times worse than a dust speck, rather than 3^3^2 + 5.

Sarcasm time: I mean, seriously - are you honestly saying that at 3^3^2 + 1 dust specks, it's worse than torture, but at 3^3^2 - 1, it's better? That's so... arbitrary. What's so special about those two dust specks? That would be so... peculiar.

As soon as you allow the arbitrary size of a number to be "peculiar," there is no longer any such thing as a non-peculiar set of preferences. That's just how consistent preferences work. Discounting sets of preferences on account of "strangeness and arbitrariness" isn't worth the effort, really.

Comment author: shminux 06 June 2012 04:49:37AM 0 points [-]

I don't mean peculiar in any negative sense, just that it would not be suitable for goal optimization.

Comment author: Manfred 06 June 2012 07:51:56AM 0 points [-]

Is that really what you meant? Huh.

Could you elaborate?