On Thu, Apr 18, 2002 at 02:08:56PM -0700, Brent Meeker wrote: > Why are you in principle unable to compute your own choices? Do you refer > to unable to predict or unable to enumerate or both?
I mean there is no algorithm which your brain can implement, such that given the mathematical description of a universe and your place in it, it always correctly predicts your decision. The reason is that the decision you actually do make is going to be affected by the prediction. Whatever prediction the algorithm makes, the rest of your brain can decide to do something else after learning about the prediction. > And do you mean with > certainity or only probabilistically - It seems you can compute (in both > senses) your choices probabilitically. I mean with certainty. The meaning of probabilities isn't clear at this point. Probabilities only make sense in the context of a decision theory, which we don't have yet. What I'm describing is just the philosophical framework for a decision theory. Invoking probabilities at this point would be circular reasoning, because we want to justify the use of probabilities (or something similar) using more basic considerations. (This was one of the historical motiviations for classical decision theory.) > Are you assuming that the > algorithm describing the universe in deterministic or do you allow that it > might have a random number generator? Deterministic.
