The odds of that individual being you are greater-than-astronomical but that is not the same as “will never happen.”
Yes, it’s vastly less probable than things that merely “will never happen.” It’s far more likely that you spontaneously turn into chocolate raspberry ice cream and are eaten by a pink Yeti who happens to be Miss New South Wales.
Would you like to be dust specked in exchange for a reduction in the base rate of that specific thing happening to you in the next second by one part in a trillion? It’s a much better deal than the torture offer.
Trying again here, as I’m not sure I expressed myself well in the previous attempt. The original problem is that you either torture one person or give 3^^^^^3 people dust specks. For purposes of this thought experiment, therefore, we must assume that there exist at least 3^^^^^3 people in some number of universes. So if you asked each and every one of them the formulation I offered in the grandparent, and they all chose the chance of torture based on your reasoning, exactly one of those people would be in for a very unpleasant surprise.
Also, the probability of the torture is greater than the probability of spontaneously converting into a frozen treat for an improbably attractive sasquatch, since we have no reason whatsoever to expect that there is anything that could cause the latter, but we have already taken as a given that there is some individual in the multiverse with the capacity to choose to inflict torture or dust specks.
[Edited] to correct the numbers to be of identical powers.
The original problem is that you either torture one person or give 3^^^^^3 people dust specks. For purposes of this thought experiment, therefore, we must assume that there exist at least 3^^^^^^3 people in some number of universes.
3^^^^^^3? Do you know the difference between 3^^^^^^3 and 3^^^^^3? Compare the size of an electron and the size of the entire universe. Then forget that because that doesn’t come close to demonstrating it. This means that the fact that you said the original problem is about 3^^^^^3 when it is actually about a mere 3^^^3 is a relatively minor error.
That you are so willing to jump from 3^^^3 to 3^^^^^^3 in the same conversation suggest you don’t really grasp the point here. The amount of people experiencing discomfort really does make a difference. There is an unimaginable amount of pain at stake.
Yes, it’s vastly less probable than things that merely “will never happen.” It’s far more likely that you spontaneously turn into chocolate raspberry ice cream and are eaten by a pink Yeti who happens to be Miss New South Wales.
Would you like to be dust specked in exchange for a reduction in the base rate of that specific thing happening to you in the next second by one part in a trillion? It’s a much better deal than the torture offer.
Trying again here, as I’m not sure I expressed myself well in the previous attempt. The original problem is that you either torture one person or give 3^^^^^3 people dust specks. For purposes of this thought experiment, therefore, we must assume that there exist at least 3^^^^^3 people in some number of universes. So if you asked each and every one of them the formulation I offered in the grandparent, and they all chose the chance of torture based on your reasoning, exactly one of those people would be in for a very unpleasant surprise.
Also, the probability of the torture is greater than the probability of spontaneously converting into a frozen treat for an improbably attractive sasquatch, since we have no reason whatsoever to expect that there is anything that could cause the latter, but we have already taken as a given that there is some individual in the multiverse with the capacity to choose to inflict torture or dust specks.
[Edited] to correct the numbers to be of identical powers.
3^^^^^^3? Do you know the difference between 3^^^^^^3 and 3^^^^^3? Compare the size of an electron and the size of the entire universe. Then forget that because that doesn’t come close to demonstrating it. This means that the fact that you said the original problem is about 3^^^^^3 when it is actually about a mere 3^^^3 is a relatively minor error.
That you are so willing to jump from 3^^^3 to 3^^^^^^3 in the same conversation suggest you don’t really grasp the point here. The amount of people experiencing discomfort really does make a difference. There is an unimaginable amount of pain at stake.
The sixth carrot in 3^^^^^^3 was a typo, which I am correcting.
And “carrot”?
The name of the grammatical symbol “^” is a carrot, as far as I know.
caret =/= Carrot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Duly noted. On reflection, I’ve never actually seen it spelled out before.
You do not seem to understand how large 3^^^^^3 is.