Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The problem with the last two proofs is that they move the question to "the demon must be able to predict the future, then say the prediction, and then have that prediction be true".

The demon might see that you will watch TV, but if it says that you will listen to the radio. If it sees both of those, even if it says something that becomes false, that doesn't mean the demon couldn't see the future or doesn't see the future. It merely means that the demon cannot accurately manifest the information.

Similarly, in the paradoxical question before, it makes the assumption that demon is honest; that it answering the question incorrectly is tantamount to it having predicted incorrectly. To me it seems clear that the constraint that the demon must be only honest and must transfer the knowledge into the system it is predicting the state of without changing the state is utterly silly.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: