Z._M._Davis comments on Complexity and Intelligence - Less Wrong

24 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 03 November 2008 08:27PM

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Comment author: Z._M._Davis 04 November 2008 10:48:02PM 2 points [-]

Henry: "Both of those concepts seem completely apt for describing *perfectly* deterministic systems. But, in describing the "complexity" of the universe even in something as simple as the 'pattern of stars that exists' one would still have to take into account potential non-deterministic factors such as human behavior. [...] [A]re you saying that you are a strict determinist?"

I'll take this one. Yes, we're presuming determinism here, although the determinism of the Many Worlds Interpretation is a little different from the single-world determinism we're used to thinking about. Also, I notice that in an earlier comment, you spoke of free will and determinism as if the concepts were opposed, but depending on exactly what you mean by free will, this does is not necessarily the case. For Eliezer's take, see, e.g., "Timeless Control," or for the philosophical mainstream, google compatibilism.