Thought Experiments

When we had the Kroo party at YC's place over the weekend, YC passed a book on thought experiments for me to entertain myself. It was a book that presents 100 thought experiments that also come with the author's own arguments.

The Pig who wants to be EatenIf a pig were able to tell you that he will willingly die for your gastronomic enjoyment, is it still right to kill and eat him? If a chicken were genetically engineered to have no mind, such that it grows pretty much like a vegetable, can you still be considered a vegetarian if you eat its meat?

Teleportation = Murder?In teleportation, the transporter device scans every single cell in your body, destroys them and transmits the data to another transporter device. The 2nd device will then recreate your cells based on the data it receives. Does that mean that you've effectively killed yourself and have replaced yourself with a clone somewhere else?

Which is the real Bismarck?When the German battleship Bismarck limped into the dry dock, the German engineers began planning a way to nurse the legendary ship back into its prime. As repairs progressed, however, they realised that many of the ship's original components were either outdated or beyond repair. Part by part, the Bismarck was replaced with new components fresh off the factory lines, products that showcase the Third Reich's technological whizbangs. The new and improved Bismarck now waited in the dry dock for its next mission. However, the engineers felt some sentimental value for all the old components that were taken out of the ship. So the pooled together the old components and used them to build a totally new ship. So which is the real Bismarck? The ship almost totally made up of new components, or the one that was made up of the old components?

Thought experiments are really fun cos stripped of all the "real-world inconveniences" that make such a situation impractable, they are exercises in logic and allow one to hone their judgements relating to certain topics.

Unfortunately though, the real-world is a lot more complex than the simplistic "two-option" models provided in the book. For example, my BeePee prof provided the example of the decision tree analysis. In a traffic accident, where you are the injured party, the insurance company of the other party will offer a one-time settlement fee. However, you can also choose to bring the matter to court, with a 90% chance of getting a much larger claim. Should the court proceedings fail, however, you still have to foot the lawyers' fees, thus incurring a loss.

The expected value of taking the matter to court is much higher than the out-of-court settlement. Thus, it is more logical to bring the matter to court. However, most normal people choose a guaranteed payout as opposed to a small chance of losing more money. Doesn't that defy logic? Does that make humans irrational?

Just like the time when I had to choose how to handle the cable-ski section in SMUGS, while there were only 2 options, I also had a choice how much work the Wakeboarders should put into developing the activity. When I discussed the formation of skating as a team, I had to consider the potential benefits that the team stands to gain versus a system that wasn't broken.
In the long run, the value derived from your decisions falls far below the expected value in a decision tree analysis. But life goes on, time introduces amnesia into people. Mulling over a decision for far too long might end up giving you a much lower payoff as you'll end up with more regrets. -Jimmy