Omega: Here are ten numbered boxes, of which you may choose one. Nine have $100 inside, the tenth has nothing. I have guessed the response of Deterministic Algorithm A (source code available upon request) to this very problem, and have made their choice the empty box.
This problem is fair in a sense, because it does not reference the source code of the player as such. And not only is it fair, but it’s a very easy problem − 9 out of 10 chance of free money. Unless you happen to be implementing a version of algorithm A, in which case you’re screwed. Even a sophisticated choice-maker can lose to AlphabeticalBot, who chooses the alphabetically first option—as long as the problem is one of those no-free-lunch problems.
Omega: Here are ten numbered boxes, of which you may choose one. Nine have $100 inside, the tenth has nothing. I have guessed the response of Deterministic Algorithm A (source code available upon request) to this very problem, and have made their choice the empty box.
This problem is fair in a sense, because it does not reference the source code of the player as such. And not only is it fair, but it’s a very easy problem − 9 out of 10 chance of free money. Unless you happen to be implementing a version of algorithm A, in which case you’re screwed. Even a sophisticated choice-maker can lose to AlphabeticalBot, who chooses the alphabetically first option—as long as the problem is one of those no-free-lunch problems.