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OrphanWilde comments on The Number Choosing Game: Against the existence of perfect theoretical rationality - Less Wrong Discussion

-1 Post author: casebash 29 January 2016 01:04AM

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Comment author: OrphanWilde 08 January 2016 01:32:55PM 0 points [-]

1) 0 times infinity is undefined not 0

Correct. Now, observe that's you've created multiple problems with massive "Undefined" where any optimization is supposed to take place, and then claimed you've proven that optimization is impossible.

You are talking about infinity as something that can be reached, when it is only something that can be approached.

No, I am not. I never assume anybody ends up with the apple/utilon, for example. There's just never a point where it makes sense to stop, so you should never stop. If this doesn't make sense to you and offends your sensibilities, well, quit constructing nonsensical scenarios that don't match the reality you understand.

If you read Richard Kennawy's comment - you'll see that utilions are not what you think that they are.

They're not anything at all, which was my point about you letting abstract things do all your heavy lifting for you.

"The apple-swapping problem is a prisoner's dilemma; agree to split the utilon and get out." - You may want to read this link. "Likewise, people who responds to the Trolley problem by saying that they would call the police are not talking about the moral intuitions that the Trolley problem intends to explore. There's nothing wrong with you if those problems are not interesting to you. But fighting the hypothetical by challenging the premises of the scenario is exactly the same as saying, "I don't find this topic interesting for whatever reason, and wish to talk about something I am interested in.""

I do believe I already addressed the scenarios you raised.