A Problem You'll Never Solve

Summary Newcomb's Paradox has confounded philosophers, mathematicians, and game players for over 50 years. The problem is simple: You can take Box A, which contains $1,000, and Box B, which contains either $0 or $1,000,000, or you can just take Box B. The right choice seems obvious -- but there's a catch. Before you play, an omniscient being has predicted whether you'd take both Box A and Box B or only Box B. If he's predicted that you'll take both, he's put $0 in Box B. If he predicts that you'll only take Box B, he's put $1,000,000 inside. So... what do you do? I explore the two approaches to this problem, one based on the math of expected utility and the other based on a logical dominance principle. Newcomb's Paradox raises questions about free will and determinism as it explores whether a problem with no solution might be easier than a problem with two perfectly valid contradictory solutions.

S9.E2 ∙ A Problem You'll Never Solve

Directed : Unknown

Written : Unknown

Stars : Todd Womack Mark Douglas Kevin Lieber Michael Stevens

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Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Feb 24, 2019

Countries of origin : United States

Official sites : Official YouTube Channel

Language : English

Production companies : Vsauce

Summary Newcomb's Paradox has confounded philosophers, mathematicians, and game players for over 50 years. The problem is simple: You can take Box A, which contains $1,000, and Box B, which contains either $0 or $1,000,000, or you can just take Box B. The right choice seems obvious -- but there's a catch. Before you play, an omniscient being has predicted whether you'd take both Box A and Box B or only Box B. If he's predicted that you'll take both, he's put $0 in Box B. If he predicts that you'll only take Box B, he's put $1,000,000 inside. So... what do you do? I explore the two approaches to this problem, one based on the math of expected utility and the other based on a logical dominance principle. Newcomb's Paradox raises questions about free will and determinism as it explores whether a problem with no solution might be easier than a problem with two perfectly valid contradictory solutions.

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Feb 24, 2019

Countries of origin : United States

Official sites : Official YouTube Channel

Language : English

Production companies : Vsauce

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