I think we would live our lives differently if we believed MWI. Firstly, our
philosopy would be more 'Buddhist' as described in
http://www.higgo.com/quantum/buddhism.htm.
But also, our decision-making might be different. I would welcome comments
(and ridicule, of course, Jacques) on the following:
Say you have two possible outcomes (exogenously determined) and three
options (endogenous) to choose from.
Outcome 1 has 80% probability and outcome 2 has 20% probability.
Option A gives 80% utility under outcome 1 and 0% utility under outcome 2.
Option B gives 80% utility under outcome 2 and 0% utility under outcome 1.
Option C gives 70% utility under outcome 1 and 20% utility under outcome 2.
In a classical world you would calculate the expected value of each option
as:
Utility(Option A)= .8*.8 + .2*0 = 64%
Utility(Option B)= .8*.2 + 0*.8 = 20%
Utility(Option C)= .7*.8 + .2*.2 = 60%
So you would choose option A.
However in MWI, if you care about 'yourself', you will also care about those
of you who end up in the less fortunate branches. You may well decide that
it is worth reducing your expected utility in order to alleviate the
suffering of the 'yous' in the less-fortunate-outcome branches. You may opt
for C.
In other words, you will make some preparations for all outcomes, not just
maximise expected benefit by preparing thoroughly for the most likely
option. You will 'hedge your bets', even though the total utility in
subsequent branches declines.
James
Received on Tue Jul 27 1999 - 01:43:28 PDT