Steve at Go Grue! has a wonderful reimagining of Newcomb’s paradox as a betting game.
Steve is arguing my position fairly well, so I won’t comment, but I’m starting to think the error is in what a rational expectation is vs. a rational decision. With enough manipulation, I can make Newcomb’s paradox end up in a Nash equilibrium where everyone chooses Game A, or I can turn it into Kavka’s toxin puzzle.
In any case, I stand by my claim that the Newcomb Paradox is the greatest paradox because there is no bad outcome, but lots of good outcomes. Thus, I’ve decided to ‘Newcombize’ all of greatest paradoxes in history. *ahem!*
The Sorites Paradox
How many Sacagawea dollar coins must be added to a pile before they can be called a heap?
Zeno’s Paradox
In counting a fortune, first you must count half-way there and before that you must count half of that and so on ad infinitum. Thus, since you have a finite amount of time alive, you will never finish.
Hempel’s Ravens
P: All coins are metal. Therefore, finding non-metal, non-coin objects helps confirm thesis P.
Ship of Theseus
Pixel’s fortune consists of one million individual dollar bills. As each dollar bill grows tattered, he replaces it with a new dollar bill. Finally, every bill is replaced. Can it still be considered the same fortune?
Buridan’s Ass
An ass has to choose between two identical piles of golden hay. They are both equidistant and he has no preference. How is making any particular choice rational?
Schrödinger’s Cat
A fortune is hidden under a box. Inside the box is a paint can that will explode if a certain particle releases a neutron. The particle has a 50 percent chance of releasing that neutron at the end of the hour. Before the box is opened, is the fortune both tainted and untainted?
Ontological paradox
A time-traveler gives himself a fortune in the past. Where did the money come from if— in the future— the time-traveler became rich because of that exact fortune?
Moore’s Paradox
I’m rich, but I don’t believe I am.
Liar Paradox
“This sentence is false,” says the millionaire liar.
(okay, so this one was pushing it, but still!)
Goodman’s Paradox
GRold: A mineral that is Gold (Au) if observed before midnight tonight and Silver (Ag) if unobserved before midnight tonight. I have a bag full of GRold, and I have been pulling out pieces of GRold all night. Just past midnight, I pull out another mineral from this bag, should I expect it to be Gold or Silver?
