The quote actually was about betting. From Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, by Russell & Norvig, on Dutch books:
One might think that this betting game is rather contrived. For example, what if one refuses to bet? Does that end the argument? The answer is that the betting game is an abstract model for decision-making situation in which every agent is unavoidably involved at every moment. Every action (including inaction) is a kind of bet, and every outcome can be seen as a payoff of the bet. Refusing to bet is like refusing to allow time to pass.
Why isn’t saying “I don’t know” a reasonable approach to the issue when ones knowledge is vague enough to be useless for knowledge (and can only be made useful if the case was a bizarre thought experiment), Just because one couldtheoretically bet on something doesn’t mean one is in a position to bet. (For example to say that I don’t know how to cure a disease so I will go to the doctor, or I don’t know what that person’s name is (even though I know it isn’t “Xpchtl Vaaaaaarax”) so I should ask someone, Or I don’t know how life began. Or I don’t know how many apples are on the tree outside (even though I know it isn’t 100 million))
VNM agents are still allowed to be indifferent.
I like Robin Hanson’s post about this. Or there’s this quote in from Russell and Norvig:
The quote actually was about betting. From Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, by Russell & Norvig, on Dutch books:
Thanks for the correction!
EDIT: My copy has “One can no more refuse to bet than one can refuse to allow time to pass.” Different editions, I guess.
They still have to know they’re indifferent.
Why isn’t saying “I don’t know” a reasonable approach to the issue when ones knowledge is vague enough to be useless for knowledge (and can only be made useful if the case was a bizarre thought experiment), Just because one couldtheoretically bet on something doesn’t mean one is in a position to bet. (For example to say that I don’t know how to cure a disease so I will go to the doctor, or I don’t know what that person’s name is (even though I know it isn’t “Xpchtl Vaaaaaarax”) so I should ask someone, Or I don’t know how life began. Or I don’t know how many apples are on the tree outside (even though I know it isn’t 100 million))