I agree with that, but the inferential distance seems too large. When I explain what I mean (there is no such thing as making a decision changing the actual world, except in the mind of an observer), people tend to put up a mental wall against it.
My point is that you seem to disagree in response to words said by others, which on further investigation turn out to have been referring to things you agree with. So the disagreable reaction to words themselves is too trigger-happy. Conversely, the words you choose to describe your own position (“there is no such thing as making a decision...”) are somewhat misleading, in the sense that their sloppy reading indicates something quite different from what you mean, or what should be possible to see when reading carefully (the quote in this sentence is an example, where the ellipsis omits the crucial detail, resulting in something silly). So the inferential distance seems mostly a matter of inefficient communication, not of distance between ideas themselves.
Just reread it. Seems we are very much on the same page. What you call timeless counterfactuals I call possible worlds. What you call point counterfactuals are indeed just mental errors, models that do not correspond to any possible world. In fact, my post makes many of the same points.
I agree with that, but the inferential distance seems too large. When I explain what I mean (there is no such thing as making a decision changing the actual world, except in the mind of an observer), people tend to put up a mental wall against it.
My point is that you seem to disagree in response to words said by others, which on further investigation turn out to have been referring to things you agree with. So the disagreable reaction to words themselves is too trigger-happy. Conversely, the words you choose to describe your own position (“there is no such thing as making a decision...”) are somewhat misleading, in the sense that their sloppy reading indicates something quite different from what you mean, or what should be possible to see when reading carefully (the quote in this sentence is an example, where the ellipsis omits the crucial detail, resulting in something silly). So the inferential distance seems mostly a matter of inefficient communication, not of distance between ideas themselves.
Thanks, it’s a good point! I appreciate the feedback.
For the record, I actually agree that: “there is no such thing as making a decision changing the actual world, except in the mind of an observer” and made a similar argument here: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YpdTSt4kRnuSkn63c/the-prediction-problem-a-variant-on-newcomb-s
Just reread it. Seems we are very much on the same page. What you call timeless counterfactuals I call possible worlds. What you call point counterfactuals are indeed just mental errors, models that do not correspond to any possible world. In fact, my post makes many of the same points.