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Mergimio H. Doefevmil
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Solomonoff’s solipsism
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

I suspect that the paradigm of computation one chooses plays an important role here. The paradigm of a deterministic Turing machine leads to what I described in the post - one dimensional sequences and guaranteed solipsism. The paradigm of a a nondeterministic Turing machine allows for multi-dimensional sequences. I will edit the post to reflect on this.

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Solomonoff’s solipsism
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y21

Solomonoff indiction doesn’t say anything about larger world models that contain the one-dimensional sequences that form the Solomonoff distribution. You appear to be saying that although the predicted sequence is always solipsistic from the point of view of the inductor, there can be a larger reality that contains that sequence, but that is an extra add-on that doesn’t appear anywhere in the original Solomonoff induction. 

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Why Real Men Wear Pink
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

Real men wear pink shirts that say "REAL MEN WEAR PINK".

Realer men wear pink shirts that don’t say anything.

Even realer men wear break the spell and wear what they actually like.

And the realest men of them all wear fedoras.

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

Interesting. What is the difference then between illusionism and eliminativism? Is eliminativism the even more "hard-core" position, whereby while illusionism only denies the existence of phenomenal properties, but not experience, eliminativism denies the existence of any experience altogether?

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

The referent of the label 2+2 is strictly identical to the referent of the label 4, but the labels 2+2 and 4 themselves are obviously not identical.

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

What would the statement of illusionism be then? That 🟩 is an illusion? Surely, yes, but digging deeper, you would get to some form of brain activity.

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

It is my impression that certain people think that illusionists deny that there is any 🟩 even in the map, and I have never heard any illusionist make that argument (maybe I just haven’t been paying enough attention though). The conversation seems to be getting stuck somewhere at the level of misunderstandings concerning labels and referents. The key insight that I am trying to communicate here is that when we say that A is B, we generally do not mean that A is strictly identical to B - which it clearly isn’t. This applies even when we say things like 2+2 = 4. Obviously, "2+2" and "4" are not even close to being identical. Everyone understands this, and everyone understands that when we say that 2+2 = 4, we use two different sets of symbols to refer to one single mathematical object. 

Claiming that greenness is activity in the visual cortex does not amount to denying that there is 🟩. 
 

But again, perhaps I just misunderstand illusionism (although not even Keith Frankish himself would deny that there is 🟩, see the video linked in the post). Are there any illusionists around here who are claiming that 🟩 is not?

As a side note, perhaps I will stop using the verb "to exist" altogether, and instead start using "to be".

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y*-1-4

In that case, perhaps I could leave it as an exercise for the reader to deduce what was there originally. Maybe it could be a good intelligence test for GPT-4...

More seriously, the reason I am reluctant to use the heart is that a heart shape is usually mentally associated with all kinds of things that are entirely irrelevant to this discussion, and could generate confusion. When writing the post, I chose the green square in a deliberate manner as the shape least likely to be distracting. 

Of course, if most readers see a placeholder box, it will generate even more confusion, so... To edit or not to edit, that is the question.

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y-10

Of course numbers exist. Here is one. 

On a more serious note, regarding the counter-productiveness of the label wars surrounding words such as "to exist", or "to be"... 

So I will just leave you with this: 🟩

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Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
Mergimio H. Doefevmil2y10

I am beginning to think that I should not have used the quotes at all. I used them more or less as a highlighting tool, perhaps a different font style would accomplish this better. I might edit the post. Regarding existence, I am using the verb "to exist" as synonymous with the verb "to be". And it is my impression that illusionists generally do not deny that (not going to use any quotes this time) 🟩 is. If some here do, I would be interested in hearing their arguments. 

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-13Solomonoff’s solipsism
2y
9
0Understanding why illusionism does not deny the existence of qualia
2y
17
11A concise sum-up of the basic argument for AI doom
2y
6