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solipsist comments on Open thread, August 4 - 10, 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion

5 Post author: polymathwannabe 04 August 2014 12:20PM

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Comment author: solipsist 04 August 2014 07:36:43PM *  7 points [-]

If your twin's going away for 20 years to fly around space at close to the speed of light, they'll be 20 years older when they come back.

A spinning gyroscope, when pushed, will react in a way that makes sense.

If another nation can't do anything as well as your nation, there is no self-serving reason to trade with them.

You shouldn't bother switching in the Monty Hall problem

The sun moves across the sky because it's moving.

EDIT Corrected all statements to be false

Comment author: gjm 04 August 2014 09:23:40PM 0 points [-]

Open trade [...]

I think you may have expressed this one the wrong way around; the way you've phrased it ("can make you better off") is the surprising truth, not the surprising untruth.

Comment author: gjm 04 August 2014 09:22:53PM 0 points [-]

If your twin flies through space for 20 years at close to the speed of light, they'll be 20 years older when they come back.

They will. I think you mean: If your twin flies through space at close to the speed of light and arrives back 20 years later, they'll be 20 years older when they come back. That one's false.

Comment author: solipsist 04 August 2014 09:39:35PM 0 points [-]

Reversed polarity on a few statements. Thanks.

Comment author: Gurkenglas 05 August 2014 06:20:16AM 0 points [-]

Your first statement is still correct.

Comment author: gjm 05 August 2014 10:02:54AM 1 point [-]

To be more explicit: What is needed to make the statement interestingly wrong is for the two 20-year figures to be in different reference frames. If your twin does something for 20 years, then they will be 20 years older; but if they do something for what you experience as 20 years they may not be.

Comment author: solipsist 05 August 2014 04:45:00PM 0 points [-]

Rephrased to more explicitly place "for 20 years" in the earth's reference frame.