It recently occurred to me that there is a near-example of (hostile) acausal interaction in popular culture. In the second Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie, he and Professor Moriarty have an entire “conversation” without speaking aloud, each simulating the other so they can decide what to do in their fight. It’s rendered in a very comprehensible way, too, considering how weird a concept acausal interaction is. (It’s not a perfect example since they do interact, but the conversation itself happens entirely in simulation.)
There are lots of examples in the movies of two geniuses facing off and one asserting that the other can simulate the first so well as to understand and counter a particular plan; that is, of A simulating B simulating A. This example has the advantage of showing the hypothetical, rather than asserting it.
This is an example of mainstream concept of exploring the game tree. It’s worth promoting, but I prefer not to call it acausal interaction.
It recently occurred to me that there is a near-example of (hostile) acausal interaction in popular culture. In the second Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie, he and Professor Moriarty have an entire “conversation” without speaking aloud, each simulating the other so they can decide what to do in their fight. It’s rendered in a very comprehensible way, too, considering how weird a concept acausal interaction is. (It’s not a perfect example since they do interact, but the conversation itself happens entirely in simulation.)
this clip
There are lots of examples in the movies of two geniuses facing off and one asserting that the other can simulate the first so well as to understand and counter a particular plan; that is, of A simulating B simulating A. This example has the advantage of showing the hypothetical, rather than asserting it.
This is an example of mainstream concept of exploring the game tree. It’s worth promoting, but I prefer not to call it acausal interaction.