Could you clarify the description of the newcomb variant, please?
What does Omega do in the case when my strategy is "Take one box if the second box is empty, take both boxes if the second box is full"? Omega is then unable to set up the boxes in accordance with what I do.
The variant with the clear boxes goes like so:
You are going to walk into a room with two boxes, A and B, both transparent. You'll be given the opportunity to enter a room with both boxes, their contents visible, where can either take both boxes or just box A.
Omega, the superintelligence from another galaxy that is never wrong, has predicted whether you will take one box or two boxes. If it predicted you were going to take just box A, then box A will contain a million dollars and box B will contain a thousand dollars. If it predicted you were going to take ...
Link:
Counterintuitive Counterfactual Strategies
Overview:
Over the weekend, I was thinking about the variant of Newcomb's Paradox where both boxes are transparent. The one where, unless you precommit to taking a visibly empty box instead of both boxes, omega can self-consistently give you less money.
I was wondering if I could make this kind of "sacrifice yourself for yourself" situation happen without involving a predictor guessing your choice before you made it. Turns out you can.