Where are the new monthly threads when I need them? A pox on the +11 EDT zone!
This thread is for the discussion of Less Wrong topics that have not appeared in recent posts. If a discussion gets unwieldy, celebrate by turning it into a top-level post.
This board has a more extreme interpretation of the powers of Omega than most philosphers -- Omega can be treated as a superintelligence which can infer enough information about the ongoing casual state to predict the future correctly.
Imagine a simple but related scenario that involves no backwards causation:
You're a 12 year old kid, and you know your mom doesn't want you to play with your new Splogomax unless an adult is with you. Your mom leaves you alone for an hour to run to the store, telling you she'll punish you if you play with the Splogomax, and that, whether there's any evidence of it when she returns, she knows you well enough to know if you're going to play with it, although she'll refrain from passing judgement until she has just gotten back from the store.
Assuming you fear punishment more than you enjoy playing with your Splogomax, do you decide to play or not?
Edit: now I feel stupid. There's a much simpler way to get my point across. Just imagine Omega doesn't fill any box until after you've picked up one or two boxes and walked away, but that he doesn't look at your choice when filling the boxes.
Where are the new monthly threads when I need them? A pox on the +11 EDT zone!
This thread is for the discussion of Less Wrong topics that have not appeared in recent posts. If a discussion gets unwieldy, celebrate by turning it into a top-level post.
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