I think the point of Dust Specks Vs Torture was scope failure. Even allowing for some sort of “negative marginal utility” once you hit a wacky number 3^^^3, it doesn’t matter. .000001 negative utility point multiplied by 3^^^3 is worse than anything, because 3^^^3 is wacky huge.
For the stick example, I’d say it would have to depend on a lot of factors about human psychology and such, but I think I’d hit the one. Marginal utility tends to go down for a product, and I think that the shock of repeated blows would be less than the shock of the one against ten separate people.
I think your opinion basically is an appeal to egalitarianism, since you expect negative utility to yourself from an unfair world where one person gets something that ten other people did not, for no good or fair reason.
I think you’re mistaken about the marginal utility—being hit again after you’ve already been injured (especially if you’re hit on the same spot) is probably going to be worse than the first blow.
Marginal disutility could plausibly work in the opposite direction from marginal utility.
Each 10% of your money that you lose impacts your quality of life more. Each 10% of money that you gain impacts your quality of life less. There might be threshold effects for both, but I think the direction is right.
I was thinking more along the lines of scope failure: If some one said you were going to be hit 11 times would you really expect it to feel exactly 110% as bad as being hit ten times?
But yes, from a traditional economics point of view, your post makes a hell of a lot more sense. Upvoted.
Marginal utility tends to go done for a product, and I think that the shock of repeated blows would be less than the shock of the one against ten separate people.
Part of the assumption of the problem was that hitting with a stick has some constant negative utility for all the people.
Part of the assumption of the problem was that hitting with a stick has some constant negative utility for all the people.
It’s always hard to think about this sort of thing. I read that in the original problem, but then I ended up thinking about actual hitting people with sticks when deciding what was best. Is there anything in the archives like The True Prisoner’s Dilemma but for giving an intuitive version of problems with adding utility?
Then it depends. If you’re a utilitarian, it is still better to hit the guy nine times than to hit ten people ten times.
If you allow some ideas about the utility of equality, then things get more complicated. That’s why I think most people reject the simple math that 9 < 10.
I think the point of Dust Specks Vs Torture was scope failure. Even allowing for some sort of “negative marginal utility” once you hit a wacky number 3^^^3, it doesn’t matter. .000001 negative utility point multiplied by 3^^^3 is worse than anything, because 3^^^3 is wacky huge.
For the stick example, I’d say it would have to depend on a lot of factors about human psychology and such, but I think I’d hit the one. Marginal utility tends to go down for a product, and I think that the shock of repeated blows would be less than the shock of the one against ten separate people.
I think your opinion basically is an appeal to egalitarianism, since you expect negative utility to yourself from an unfair world where one person gets something that ten other people did not, for no good or fair reason.
I think you’re mistaken about the marginal utility—being hit again after you’ve already been injured (especially if you’re hit on the same spot) is probably going to be worse than the first blow.
Marginal disutility could plausibly work in the opposite direction from marginal utility.
Each 10% of your money that you lose impacts your quality of life more. Each 10% of money that you gain impacts your quality of life less. There might be threshold effects for both, but I think the direction is right.
I was thinking more along the lines of scope failure: If some one said you were going to be hit 11 times would you really expect it to feel exactly 110% as bad as being hit ten times?
But yes, from a traditional economics point of view, your post makes a hell of a lot more sense. Upvoted.
Part of the assumption of the problem was that hitting with a stick has some constant negative utility for all the people.
It’s always hard to think about this sort of thing. I read that in the original problem, but then I ended up thinking about actual hitting people with sticks when deciding what was best. Is there anything in the archives like The True Prisoner’s Dilemma but for giving an intuitive version of problems with adding utility?
Then it depends. If you’re a utilitarian, it is still better to hit the guy nine times than to hit ten people ten times.
If you allow some ideas about the utility of equality, then things get more complicated. That’s why I think most people reject the simple math that 9 < 10.