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fubarobfusco comments on The Doubling Box - Less Wrong Discussion

13 Post author: Mestroyer 06 August 2012 05:50AM

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Tags: decision infinity paradox unbounded utility busy_beaver

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Comment author: fubarobfusco 06 August 2012 04:52:17PM *  3 points [-]

I've never met an infinite decision tree in my life so far, and I doubt I ever will. It is a property of problems with an infinite solution space that they can't be solved optimally, and it doesn't reveal any decision theoretic inconsistencies that could come up in real life.

"You are finite. Zathras is finite. This utility function has infinities in it. No, not good. Never use that."
— Not Babylon 5

Comment author: Mestroyer 06 August 2012 11:32:47PM 0 points [-]

But I do not choose my utility function as an means to get something. My utility function describes is what I want to choose means to get. And I'm pretty sure it's unbounded.

Comment author: fubarobfusco 07 August 2012 12:24:37AM *  1 point [-]

You've only expended a finite amount of computation on the question, though; and you're running on corrupted hardware. How confident can you be that you have already correctly distinguished an unbounded utility function from one with a very large finite bound?

(A genocidal, fanatical asshole once said: "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken.")

Comment author: Mestroyer 07 August 2012 10:55:25PM 0 points [-]

I do think it possible I may be mistaken.

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