From: Jef Allbright (jef@jefallbright.net)
Date: Tue Aug 19 2003 - 17:34:07 MDT
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
> I am in agreement with James Rogers, due to this generalization from
> personal experience: When you know what you are doing, there is only
> ever one thing *to* do, even if there is more than one way to do it;
> the options you have are not nervously ambiguous; they are not chosen
> in uncertainty as to the function being fulfilled.
Eliezer, your statement is generally correct for any specified problem
context. However, in the real world we never fully know the context within
which we operate, and the universe is free to spring surprises on us at any
time. Realizing this is an essential part of wisdom, and clarifies various
popular "paradoxes" such as the iterated Prisoner's Dilemma and Newcomb's.
It's the difference between rationality and super-rationality. Beware the
arrogance of youth.
- Jef
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