There is a big and implicit step that is worth explicating here, because most people who first approach Newcomb-like problems miss it completely:
TREAT HUMANS AS BOTS
By a bot I mean an algorithm, of course. An algorithm Omega can analyze for all possible combination of inputs.
That this step is valid follows from the problem’s stipulation that Omega can predict your actions. In other words, it knows your output for any combination of inputs it cares to give you.
Whether Omega does this by running your algorithm in a sandbox or by analyzing your code does not affect the answer to the puzzle, since the end result is the same. But the sandboxing version can often make it easier to find the solution, because it lets one rely on the Reflective Equilibrium of sorts: you cannot tell when deciding what to do whether you are in an Omega’s simulation of you or not, so you may as well assume that you are.
TL;DR: to Omega, you are a bot, so write down all relevant algorithms and analyze/run them before picking a winning one.
This is what I did too. One big advantage is that it changes Omega’s predictive abilities from mysterious magic to a simple process that it’s possible to completely analyse without getting confused.
There is a big and implicit step that is worth explicating here, because most people who first approach Newcomb-like problems miss it completely:
TREAT HUMANS AS BOTS
By a bot I mean an algorithm, of course. An algorithm Omega can analyze for all possible combination of inputs.
That this step is valid follows from the problem’s stipulation that Omega can predict your actions. In other words, it knows your output for any combination of inputs it cares to give you.
Whether Omega does this by running your algorithm in a sandbox or by analyzing your code does not affect the answer to the puzzle, since the end result is the same. But the sandboxing version can often make it easier to find the solution, because it lets one rely on the Reflective Equilibrium of sorts: you cannot tell when deciding what to do whether you are in an Omega’s simulation of you or not, so you may as well assume that you are.
TL;DR: to Omega, you are a bot, so write down all relevant algorithms and analyze/run them before picking a winning one.
This is what I did too. One big advantage is that it changes Omega’s predictive abilities from mysterious magic to a simple process that it’s possible to completely analyse without getting confused.