Re: More MWI implications: Altruism and the 'Quantum Insurance Policy'

From: Edmund Schaefer (edmund.schaefer@gmail.com)
Date: Mon Dec 13 2004 - 14:09:11 MST


On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 18:25:22 +1300 (NZDT), Marc Geddes
<marc_geddes@yahoo.co.nz> wrote:
> In the fictional exmaple Ben is *not* assuming that
> the decision he is about to take is bad. He saying it
> *might* be bad. He is then asking if there is
> anything he can do to 'spread the risk' across
> alternative versions of himself in the multiverse, so
> as to ensure that some minimum fraction of hs
> alternative selves experience a good outcome.

You're also ensuring a minimum fraction experience a bad outcome. Why
assign a higher utility to a 100% chance of 50% surviving than to a
fifty-fifty split between "nearly all dead" and "nearly all alive"?
It's like being asked "Would you like $100 or a 50% chance of getting
$200?", but in a situation where there's no obvious diminishing
utility on the money you receive.



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