Well Eliezer seems to be stuck in the mud here the only solutions to a problem that he can accept are ones that fit into bayesian statistics and a logical syllogism. But he seems to be blithely unaware of the vast scope of possible approaches to solving any given problem. Not to mention the post seems to be a straw man since I would find it hard to imagine that any real scientist or engineer would ever claim that randomness is categorically better then an engineered solution. But I guess thats because I associate and work with real engineers and scientists so what would I know. Not to mention the statement that a randomized algorithm can perform better is true in a limited extent. The statement about the randomized algorithm being better is a specific statement about that algorithm and I would imagine the people making it would agree that one could engineer a better solution. I can’t imagine any real engineer making the claim that the randomized algorithm will always perform better then the engineered one.
Well Eliezer seems to be stuck in the mud here the only solutions to a problem that he can accept are ones that fit into bayesian statistics and a logical syllogism. But he seems to be blithely unaware of the vast scope of possible approaches to solving any given problem. Not to mention the post seems to be a straw man since I would find it hard to imagine that any real scientist or engineer would ever claim that randomness is categorically better then an engineered solution. But I guess thats because I associate and work with real engineers and scientists so what would I know. Not to mention the statement that a randomized algorithm can perform better is true in a limited extent. The statement about the randomized algorithm being better is a specific statement about that algorithm and I would imagine the people making it would agree that one could engineer a better solution. I can’t imagine any real engineer making the claim that the randomized algorithm will always perform better then the engineered one.