Pre-commitment is different from deciding on the spot because once you’re on the spot, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do to change what’s in box B. It’s over. It’s a done deal. It’s beyond your control.
My understanding of Eliezer’s argument is the same as yours. My objection is that two-boxing doesn’t actually give a bad outcome. It gives the best outcome you can get given the situation you’re in. That you don’t know what situation you’re in until after you’ve opened box B doesn’t change that fact. As Eliezer is so fond of saying, the map isn’t the territory.
Pre-commitment is different from deciding on the spot because once you’re on the spot, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do to change what’s in box B.
If your decision on the spot is 100 percent predictable ahead of time, as is explicitly assumed in the problem construction, you are effectively pre-committed as far as Omega is concerned. You, apparently, have essentially pre-committed to opening two boxes.
My objection is that two-boxing doesn’t actually give a bad outcome. It gives the best outcome you can get given the situation you’re in.
And yet, everyone who opens one box does better than the people who open two boxes.
You seem to have a very peculiar definition of “best outcome”.
If your decision on the spot is 100 percent predictable ahead of time, as is explicitly assumed in the problem construction, you are effectively pre-committed as far as Omega is concerned. You, apparently, have essentially pre-committed to opening two boxes.
What I meant by ‘pre-commitment’ is a decision that we can make if and only if we know about Newcomb-like problems before being faced with one. In other words, it’s a decision that can affect what Omega will put in box B. That Omega can deduce what my decision will be doesn’t mean that the decision is already taken.
And yet, everyone who opens one box does better than the people who open two boxes.
And every fatass who competes against an Olympic athlete in the scenario I described above does ‘better’ than the athlete. So what? Unless the athlete knows about the competition’s rules ahead of time and eats non-stop to turn himself into a fatass, there’s not a damn thing he can do about it, except try his best once the competition starts.
You seem to have a very peculiar definition of “best outcome”.
It seems too obvious to say, but I guess I have to say it. “The best outcome” in this context is “the best outcome that it is possible to achieve by making a decision”.
If box B contains nothing, then the best outcome that it is possible to achieve by making a decision is to win a thousand dollars. If box B contains a million dollars, then the best outcome that it is possible to achieve by making a decision is to win one million and one thousand dollars.
Well, I don’t see how I can explain myself more clearly than this, so this will be my last comment on this subject. In this thread. This week. ;)
This exchange has finally imparted a better understanding of this problem for me.
If you pre-commit now to always one-box – and you believe that about yourself – then deciding to one-box when Omega asks you is the best decision.
If you are uncertain of your commitment then you probably haven’t really pre-committed! I haven’t tried to math it, but I think your actual decision when Omega arrives would depend on the strength of your belief about your own pre-commitment. [Though a more-inconvenient possible world is the one in which you’ve never heard of this, or similar, puzzles!]
Now I grok why rationality should be self-consistent under reflection.
Small nitpick: If you’ve really pre-committed to one-boxing, there is no decision to be made once Omega has set up the boxes. In fact, the thought of making a decision won’t even cross your mind. If it does cross your mind, you should two-box. But if you two-box, you now know that you haven’t really pre-committed to one-boxing. Actually, even if you decide to (mistakenly) one-box, you’ll still know you haven’t really pre-committed, or you wouldn’t have had to decide anything on the spot.
In other words, Newcomb’s problem can only ever involve a single true decision. If you’re capable of pre-commitment (that is, if you know about Newcomb-like problems in advance and if you have the means to really pre-commit), it’s the decision to pre-commit, which precludes any ulterior decision. If you aren’t capable of pre-commitment (that is, if at least one of the above conditions is false), it’s the on-the-spot decision.
Pre-commitment is different from deciding on the spot because once you’re on the spot, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do to change what’s in box B. It’s over. It’s a done deal. It’s beyond your control.
My understanding of Eliezer’s argument is the same as yours. My objection is that two-boxing doesn’t actually give a bad outcome. It gives the best outcome you can get given the situation you’re in. That you don’t know what situation you’re in until after you’ve opened box B doesn’t change that fact. As Eliezer is so fond of saying, the map isn’t the territory.
If your decision on the spot is 100 percent predictable ahead of time, as is explicitly assumed in the problem construction, you are effectively pre-committed as far as Omega is concerned. You, apparently, have essentially pre-committed to opening two boxes.
And yet, everyone who opens one box does better than the people who open two boxes.
You seem to have a very peculiar definition of “best outcome”.
What I meant by ‘pre-commitment’ is a decision that we can make if and only if we know about Newcomb-like problems before being faced with one. In other words, it’s a decision that can affect what Omega will put in box B. That Omega can deduce what my decision will be doesn’t mean that the decision is already taken.
And every fatass who competes against an Olympic athlete in the scenario I described above does ‘better’ than the athlete. So what? Unless the athlete knows about the competition’s rules ahead of time and eats non-stop to turn himself into a fatass, there’s not a damn thing he can do about it, except try his best once the competition starts.
It seems too obvious to say, but I guess I have to say it. “The best outcome” in this context is “the best outcome that it is possible to achieve by making a decision”. If box B contains nothing, then the best outcome that it is possible to achieve by making a decision is to win a thousand dollars. If box B contains a million dollars, then the best outcome that it is possible to achieve by making a decision is to win one million and one thousand dollars.
Well, I don’t see how I can explain myself more clearly than this, so this will be my last comment on this subject. In this thread. This week. ;)
This exchange has finally imparted a better understanding of this problem for me.
If you pre-commit now to always one-box – and you believe that about yourself – then deciding to one-box when Omega asks you is the best decision.
If you are uncertain of your commitment then you probably haven’t really pre-committed! I haven’t tried to math it, but I think your actual decision when Omega arrives would depend on the strength of your belief about your own pre-commitment. [Though a more-inconvenient possible world is the one in which you’ve never heard of this, or similar, puzzles!]
Now I grok why rationality should be self-consistent under reflection.
Small nitpick: If you’ve really pre-committed to one-boxing, there is no decision to be made once Omega has set up the boxes. In fact, the thought of making a decision won’t even cross your mind. If it does cross your mind, you should two-box. But if you two-box, you now know that you haven’t really pre-committed to one-boxing. Actually, even if you decide to (mistakenly) one-box, you’ll still know you haven’t really pre-committed, or you wouldn’t have had to decide anything on the spot.
In other words, Newcomb’s problem can only ever involve a single true decision. If you’re capable of pre-commitment (that is, if you know about Newcomb-like problems in advance and if you have the means to really pre-commit), it’s the decision to pre-commit, which precludes any ulterior decision. If you aren’t capable of pre-commitment (that is, if at least one of the above conditions is false), it’s the on-the-spot decision.