Perhaps the point being made is less obvious to some others than it is to you. The same applies to many posts.
This is like a dismissive… compliment? I’m not sure how to feel!
Seriously, though, it doesn’t undermine my point. This article ultimately gets to the same basic conclusion, but does it in a very roundabout way. The definition of “utilitons,” converting outcomes into utilons eliminates risk-aversion. This extensive discussion ultimately makes the point that it’s irrational to be utilon risk averse, but it doesn’t really hit the bigger point that utilon risk aversion is fundamentally non-sensical. The fact that people don’t realize that there’s circular reasoning going on is all the more reason to point out that it is happening.
I disagree with your connotations. While the point is obvious and even follows logically from the premises it is not ‘circular’ in any meaningful sense. People are still getting confused on the issue so explaining it is fine.
I don’t mean obvious in the, “Why didn’t I think of that?” sense. I mean obvious in the trivial sense. When I say that it is circular, I don’t mean simply that the conclusion follows logically from the premises. That is the ultimate virtue of an argument. What I mean is that the conclusion is one of the premises. The definition of a rational person is one who maximizes their expected utility. Therefore, someone who is risk-averse with respect to utility is irrational; our definition of rational guarantees that this be so.
I certainly see why the overall issue leads to confusion and why people don’t see the problem instantly—the language is complex, and the concept of “utilons” folds a lot of concepts into itself so that it’s easy to lose track of what it really means. I don’t think this post really appreciates this issue, and it seems to me to be the deepest problem with this discussion. It reads like it is analyzing an actual problem, rather than unpacking an argument to show how it is circular, and I think the latter is the best description of the actual problem.
In other words, the article makes it easy to walk away without realizing that it is impossible for a rational person to be risk averse towards utility because it contradicts what we mean by “rational person.” That seems like the key issue here to me.
I don’t mean obvious in the, “Why didn’t I think of that?” sense. I mean obvious in the trivial sense. When I say that it is circular, I don’t mean simply that the conclusion follows logically from the premises.
And, for the sake of clarity, I have expressed disagreement with this position.
For what it’s worth I don’t necessarily agree with the post in full—I just don’t apply this particular rejection.
This is like a dismissive… compliment? I’m not sure how to feel!
Seriously, though, it doesn’t undermine my point. This article ultimately gets to the same basic conclusion, but does it in a very roundabout way. The definition of “utilitons,” converting outcomes into utilons eliminates risk-aversion. This extensive discussion ultimately makes the point that it’s irrational to be utilon risk averse, but it doesn’t really hit the bigger point that utilon risk aversion is fundamentally non-sensical. The fact that people don’t realize that there’s circular reasoning going on is all the more reason to point out that it is happening.
I disagree with your connotations. While the point is obvious and even follows logically from the premises it is not ‘circular’ in any meaningful sense. People are still getting confused on the issue so explaining it is fine.
I don’t mean obvious in the, “Why didn’t I think of that?” sense. I mean obvious in the trivial sense. When I say that it is circular, I don’t mean simply that the conclusion follows logically from the premises. That is the ultimate virtue of an argument. What I mean is that the conclusion is one of the premises. The definition of a rational person is one who maximizes their expected utility. Therefore, someone who is risk-averse with respect to utility is irrational; our definition of rational guarantees that this be so.
I certainly see why the overall issue leads to confusion and why people don’t see the problem instantly—the language is complex, and the concept of “utilons” folds a lot of concepts into itself so that it’s easy to lose track of what it really means. I don’t think this post really appreciates this issue, and it seems to me to be the deepest problem with this discussion. It reads like it is analyzing an actual problem, rather than unpacking an argument to show how it is circular, and I think the latter is the best description of the actual problem.
In other words, the article makes it easy to walk away without realizing that it is impossible for a rational person to be risk averse towards utility because it contradicts what we mean by “rational person.” That seems like the key issue here to me.
And, for the sake of clarity, I have expressed disagreement with this position.
For what it’s worth I don’t necessarily agree with the post in full—I just don’t apply this particular rejection.