Re: spoon-discuss: Re: spoon-business: Paradox prevention proposal

[Wonko <dplepage@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on 12/26/01 1:53 AM, Rob Speer at rob@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> What if you can't tell whether a paradox has been created or not? What
> if the awarding of 100 points triggers a paradox in an earlier proposal
> which never would have been a paradox if the later proposal had not been
> one? What if two proposals passed simultaneously create a paradox with

Two proposals never pass simultaneously b/cs of rule 32.

> each other - or what if a recently-passed proposal causes a joint
> paradox with a proposal passed in nweek 1, and that proposal since then
> has affected the rest of the game?

I intended for only the most recently passed proposal to be destroyed, to
avoid changing things that happened in the past. (of course, this still
doesn't account for the possibility of nobody noticing a paradox for a
while).
 
> More specifically, I think this very proposal could create a paradox of
> immense proportions. If one proposal is passed as a direct result of
> another proposal (say, a change in the number of votes required for a
> proposal to pass), and the later proposal incidentally makes the effect
> of the first proposal paradoxical,

The the later proposal should be erased, as it was its passing that created
the paradox.

> then the first proposal would have to
> be erased. Then the person who passed it would get 100 points as a
> result of the second proposal - but wait! The awarding of 100 points is
> an effect of the second proposal which was an effect of the first! Since
> the first proposal never happened, the second proposal didn't pass, and
> the 100 points were never awarded, yet the original Paradox proposal
> says that due to this paradox 100 points must be awarded. This puts the
> fault of the new paradox on the Paradox proposal itself, which then eats
> itself and gives Wonko 100 points, which incidentally he never got
> because the Paradox proposal is deemed to never have passed in the first
> place, and then you have a third paradox which is entirely unresolvable
> and has probably destroyed the entire state of the game after the
> Paradox proposal passed (or didn't).
> 
> On a more down-to-earth level, I think this proposal would have to
> override rule 32 in order to have any effect, anyway. Plus, it says "all
> effects... besides the awardment of the win" - but no win is awarded
> according to this proposal.

The 'awardment of the win' is there because I changed from a win to 100
points partway through and forgot to change that. Thanks for pointing out
rule 32.

> 
> --
> Rob Speer
>