Re: UDA steps 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

From: <hal.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 10:56:19 -0700

Marchal writes:
> Here is question 6. Perhaps the first not so obvious one.
> Do you agree that, if I ask you at Brussels, before the
> Washington-Moscow duplication experiment: "Where will you *feel*
> to be after the experiment will be completed?" that although
> you can answer "you will see me at Washington and at Moscow",
> your first person diary will either contain "I am at Moscow" or
> I am at Washington" so that you cannot predict with certainty
> where you will feel to be?"

I don't think this is a meaningful question, because it is not
"operational", that is, it is just a matter of opinion and does not
require anyone to take any action.

Suppose you were French and, faced with this experiment, you were asked,
would you study English or Russian prior to engaging in this experiment?
That is an operational question. If you think you will be in Moscow,
you would study Russian; if Washington, English. If neither, then I
suppose you would not study either one. For me, I would study both.

However I would refuse to answer a question like "where will you feel to
be", not because I can't predict the answer with certainty, but because
I don't think "you" is a well defined concept in the context of this
experiment. It's not that the answer to the question is unpredictable,
it's that the question is meaningless.

Hal
Received on Fri Jun 29 2001 - 11:05:59 PDT