I don't think I'm being clear. I don't understand what it means for something to be vs not-be an optimisation process. What features or properties distinguish an optimisation process from a not-optimisation process?
How can we define optimisation in a way that doesn't let us just say "it's optimising to end up like that" about any process with an end state? [..] What features or properties distinguish an optimisation process from a not-optimisation process?
Well, OK, suppose we observe process P causes a system S to transition from state S1 to S2, and observe that S1 is better than S2 for achieving goals in set G1 and S2 is better than S1 for achieving G2. Suppose we lack a definition like what you're asking for, and naively assert that P is an optimizing ...
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