conchis comments on Post Your Utility Function - Less Wrong
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I am only saying that the entire stack of concepts you have just mentioned exists only in your map.
Permit me to translate: supposing utility is not about the (portion of map labeled) territory but about the (portion of map labeled) map, we get people who want nothing more than to sabotage their own mapmaking capabilities.
Does that make it any clearer what I'm saying?
This is a "does the tree make a sound" argument, and I'm on the, "no it doesn't" side, due to using a definition of "sound" that means "the representation of audio waves within a human nervous system". You are on the "of course it makes a sound" side, because your definition of sound is "pressure waves in the air."
Make sense?
I've been trying to be on the "it depends on your definition and my definition sits within the realm of acceptable definitions" side. Unfortunately, whether this is what you intend or not, most of your comments come across as though you're on the "it depends on the definition, and my (PJ's) defintion is right and yours is wrong" side, which is what seems to be getting people's backs up.
This confusion is dissolved in the post Disputing Definitions.
Which confusion? I didn't think I was confused. Now I'm confused about whether I'm confused. ;)
You mentioned this confusion as possibly playing a role in you and Eby talking past each other, the ambiguous use of the word "utility".
OK, cool. Now, given that we've already identified that, what does Disputing Definitions tell us that we don't already know?