Wei Dai wrote:
>Now suppose that two people, Alice and Bob, somehow agree that a measure M
>is the objectively correct measure, but Bob insists on using measure M' in
>making decisions. He says "So what if universe A has a bigger measure than
>universe B according to M? I just care more about what happens in universe
>B than universe A, so I'll use M' which assigns a bigger measure to
>universe B." What can Alice say to Bob to convince him that he is
>not being rational? I don't see what the answer could be.
>
But measures aren't just about making decisions about what to *do*, the main
argument for a single objective measure is that such a measure could make
predictions about what we *see*, like why we see regular laws of physics and
never see any "white rabbits". Although Bob can decide that only universes
where gravity is repulsive matter to him in terms of his decision-making (so
that he'd be happy to bet his life's savings that a dropped ball would fall
up), he'll have to agree with Alice on what is actually observed to happen
when a particular ball is dropped. Without an objective measure, I don't
think there's any way to explain why we consistently see outcomes that obey
the known laws of physics (like why we always see dropped balls fall towards
the earth).
Jesse Mazer
_________________________________________________________________
Rethink your business approach for the new year with the helpful tips here.
http://special.msn.com/bcentral/prep04.armx
Received on Sat Jan 24 2004 - 23:51:36 PST