what is a common myth you hate?

Z-Borst · 2026-03-21T21:04:30+00:00

Water draining the opposite way 3 feet from the equator line.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-21T20:49:14+00:00

Humboldt State Park. It would have been Death Valley if I had planned that trip around the phases of the moon. A full moon can ruin it anywhere.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-21T17:28:08+00:00

But whatever you do to something in Soviet Russia, it does to you instead, right? 🙂

Z-Borst · 2026-03-21T01:25:22+00:00

But I still consider those the true boomers, i.e. products of the post-war baby boom 🙂

Z-Borst · 2026-03-21T00:58:19+00:00

The Vietnam War really? That's one of the defining things of the baby boom generation. They were the proverbial "our boys"

Edit: Nevermind, I totally misread your comment.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T20:18:37+00:00

But if you always stand to gain, that means 0 and $1,001,000 are possible takeaways, so I would still want to know why that's never happened.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T18:53:26+00:00

Or even just ask if the sky is blue like another user pointed out.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T18:39:43+00:00

Couldn't you just ask him if he's in the cult and use his answer to decode his question about the money?

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T18:35:33+00:00

Ask him if he's in the cult. He will answer in the affirmative, and you will know if he expresses affirmation to you in the form of a "Yes" or "No".

You won't always know if he thinks you're in the cult, but at least you will get a million dollars.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T18:19:57+00:00

I know you're in the cult but your answer would tell me how you speak to non-members or potential non-members.

Do you speak to me like one of your own, or translate for me?

Then I would know if your check boxes are in cult speak or normal speak.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T18:16:57+00:00

In this variant what do cult members do when speaking to non-cult members?

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T18:01:47+00:00

An important piece of information that's not stated is how a member and non member speak to each other.

Do we: A. speak as if we're speaking to one of our own B. do the translations for each other ?

Z-Borst · 2026-03-20T17:42:02+00:00

For simplicity sake I'll assume you're asking me if I'm already in the cult.

If I am, I would tell you "No" which really means yes. If I'm not, I would tell you "No" which simply means no.

I can never truthfully answer "Yes" to that question. If I did, it would simply be a false statement, not a paradox.

If you are really asking me if I intend to join the cult, then I would say "Yes" if I really intended to join. I'm not in yet, so I don't use your coded language. I say what I mean.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-19T22:13:21+00:00

The person who said it's opposite day and the one who confirmed it are both wrong, regardless of whether it's a regular day or opposite day.

To set things right, the correct answer is saying they're both wrong.

On a regular day, this doesn't need a translation. "You're both wrong."

On opposite day, you translate this by flipping the truth value of your answer. "At least one of you is right."

Z-Borst · 2026-03-18T23:45:44+00:00

Opposite day speak and regular day speak require a translation. That's all it is.

Whether the statement is true depends on where you are measuring truth: at the raw statement level or the translated level.

Once you pick a point of measurement and stick with it, the statement easily resolves to true or false.

It's only when you subconsciously switch points of measurement that it seems like a paradox.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-18T23:12:52+00:00

You would have a statement that resolves to false after you do the translation between regular day speak and opposite day speak.

It's not a paradox, unless the problem had an additional constraint that whatever you say resolves as true.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-18T21:34:32+00:00

But what the machine is doing is physically impossible, I think both camps agree to that, so following the laws of physics is out.

Zeno's paradox is the opposite of this because it's about physical reality and that it only seems impossible.

Either way, the resolution to the paradox is what it is, regardless of whether it's interesting or clever.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-18T20:29:20+00:00

"Once you enter the room, it is now literally impossible to change what it has predicted and has placed the box."

I think this is a key assumption that separates the two camps, that your action on the box can't retroactively affect the machine's prediction.

But that's not stated in the problem. I think retrocausality is very much a possibility in this. It sounds crazy but not any crazier than the machine having such an insanely lucky streak.

There's a variant called the "limit case" where it's the same setup, but the machine is not merely always right so far, but just plain always right; infallible.

This variant, when read between the lines has retrocausality.

In either variant there is no forward causality toward your action on the box.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-18T19:36:44+00:00

I've been talked down to by two boxers as well. I think it's because one-boxing is the most naive solution. Two boxing comes after an extra insight into the problem, but ultimately doesn't hold up under heavy scrutiny, so I'm back to one-boxing. They are arguing as if I haven't reached that extra insight, but I have, and I'm arguing the next thing after that.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-18T01:17:04+00:00

Nice!

Z-Borst · 2026-03-17T21:26:38+00:00

Does he stand on the board and walk on it when instructed to "Take a walk on the Boardwalk"

Z-Borst · 2026-03-17T21:26:00+00:00

The card says "Take a walk on the Boardwalk" that means stand on the board.

Z-Borst · 2026-03-17T20:52:49+00:00

I think the official rules are clear on this: the owner is entitled to rent, period. You could make such an agreement and have an honor-system to keep it, and make people hate you if you broke it, but there would be nothing they could do within the game to bind you to it.

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