kim0 comments on No Universal Probability Space - Less Wrong

0 Post author: gworley 06 May 2009 02:58AM

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Comment author: kim0 08 May 2009 08:03:34PM -2 points [-]

It is universal, because every possible sequence is generated.

It is universal, because it is based on universally recursive functions.

It is universal, because it uses an universal computer.

People knowing algorithmic complexity know that it is about probability measures, spaces, universality, etc. You apparently did not, while nitpicking instead.

Comment author: smoofra 08 May 2009 09:01:56PM *  0 points [-]

I'm not nitpicking, you're wrong. "Universal" in this context means, to quote the original poster

i.e. the probability space of all events that could occur at some time during the existence of the universe

What the heck does that have to do with every possible sequence being generated? For that matter what does it have to do with sequences at all? The solomonoff measure is a measure over sequences in a finite alphabet, or to put it simpler, Integers. How do I express an event like "it will rain next tuesday" as a subset of the integers?

Whatever you are using the word "universal" to mean, it is not anything like what the OP had in mind. The Solomonoff measure is an interesting mathematical object for sure, and it may be quite relevant to the topic of real-world Bayesian reasoning, but it's obviously not universal in that sense.

also: what the heck does "universally recursive" mean? Did you just make up that term right now? Because I've never heard it before, it only has 10 google hits, and none of them are relevant to this discussion.