2^^^2 is 4, so I’d choose that in a heartbeat. 2^^^3 is the kind of number you were probably thinking about. Though, if we’re choosing fair-sounding situations, I’d like to cut one of my fingernails too short to generate a MJ/K of negentropy.
I’ve got one way of thinking this problem through that seems to fit with what you’re saying – though of course, it has its own flaws: represent each person’s utility (is that the right word in this case) such that 0 is the maximum possible utility they can have, then map each individual’s utility with x ⟼ -(e^(-x)), so that lots of harm to one person is weighted higher than tiny harms to many people. This is almost certainly a case of forcing the model to say what we want it to say.
2^^^2 is 4, so I’d choose that in a heartbeat. 2^^^3 is the kind of number you were probably thinking about. Though, if we’re choosing fair-sounding situations, I’d like to cut one of my fingernails too short to generate a MJ/K of negentropy.
I’ve got one way of thinking this problem through that seems to fit with what you’re saying – though of course, it has its own flaws: represent each person’s utility (is that the right word in this case) such that 0 is the maximum possible utility they can have, then map each individual’s utility with x ⟼ -(e^(-x)), so that lots of harm to one person is weighted higher than tiny harms to many people. This is almost certainly a case of forcing the model to say what we want it to say.