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A comment on No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge"). Parent comment

Re:No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types... by scott_s on Friday February 12, 2010 @06:56PM (#1122186)
We always operate with imperfect knowledge. So we must make decisions based on probable outcomes. Is the child more likely to be better off if not hit by the car? Since the chance of death is high, then yes.

You also have to factor out things that appear on both sides of the equation. Any of the possible positive things you have prevented that also could happen had you intervened are irrelevant to the decision.

We never have perfect knowledge, but we must act anyway. The alternative is to be frozen and do nothing, ever.

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Re:No One Knows What the F*** They're Doing (or "The 3 Types... by Lochinvar on Thursday March 04, 2010 @11:09AM (#1167213)
It's not a binary system. The point is that it's better to make a decision knowing that your knowledge is imperfect and allowing for that than to do so thinking that your plan is perfect and that nothing could possibly go wrong.
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