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rthomas6 comments on Irrationality Game III - Less Wrong Discussion
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You (the reader) do not exist.
EDIT: That was too punchy and not precise. The reasoning behind the statement:
Most things which think they are me are horribly confused gasps of consciousness. Rational agents should believe the chances are small that their experiences are remotely genuine.
EDIT 2: After thinking about shminux's comment, I have to retract my original statement about you readers not existing. Even if I'm a hopelessly confused Boltzmann brain, the referent "you" might still well exist. At minimum I have to think about existence more. Sorry!
What degree of certainty do you place on that belief?
I could put numbers to it, but it would really be pulling them out of my butt -- how certain are you that anthropic reasoning is valid? If it is valid (which seems more likely than not), then you quickly run into the problem of Boltzmann brains. Some people try to exorcise Boltzmann brains from their anthropic viewpoint, but I have no problem with biting the bullet that most brains are Boltzmann brains. The practical implications of that belief, assuming the world is as it appears to be, are (I believe) minimal.