Deciding on a Theory of Decision

19 November 2008

Much of my time of late has been going into my paper on operationalizing a model of preference in which strict preference and indifference don't provide a total ordering.

Quite a while ago, I reälized very precisely what sort of system the assumptions would have to imply; I mistakenly presumed that I would relatively quickly identify sufficient assumptions (beyond those already recognized). But, at this point, I have a sufficient assemblage, each member of which is, taken by itself, at least passably acceptable. Jointly, however, there's an issue of factoring.

The paper derives its results from three sets of propositions. The first and second sets seem perfectly fine to me, and I don't expect them to provoke much dispute. The third set are more ad hoc. For the purposes of the paper they function as axiomata, but some or all of them would more ideally be derived from deeper principles (the pursuit of which, however, would be mostly a distraction from my goals).

It's amongst this last set of propositions that the factoring problem exists. One of them used to play an important rôle; right now it's doing nothing but occupying space. I'd remove it, except that I suspect that, in conjunction with the very principle that seemed to make it superfluous, it renders redundant another principle which feels even more ad hoc.

At the same time, I am now wrestling with what sort of discussion to provide after presenting the theoremata. I just don't seem to be in much of a frame-of-mind to ruminate.

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2 Responses to Deciding on a Theory of Decision

  • BigTigerMonkey says:

    At the same time, I am now wrestling with what sort of discussion to provide after presenting the theoremata. I just don’t seem to be in much of a frame-of-mind to ruminate.

    Sounds like my new excuse for when people call me cagey.

    • Daniel says:

      When I call you cagey, it's not in the context of seeking the equivalent of an essay from you, but in the context of your resisting giving simple answers (such as yes, no, or some integer) to simple questions.

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