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"Opportunity is the probability distribution over outcomes." No, it's not. You aren't accounting for choice at all. Some people choose happiness over wealth, s
by jeffdavis 10y ago
"Opportunity is the probability distribution over outcomes."
No, it's not. You aren't accounting for choice at all. Some people choose happiness over wealth, some people choose short-term outcomes over long-term outcomes, and some people just make choices that result in a much greater struggle for whatever reason.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago>No, it's not. You aren't accounting for choice at all. Only in the sense that I consider individual choice to be "marginalized out" here. People's choices have only a limited causal influence on outcomes, after all, but it is instructive to look at how much causal power choices have, versus circumstances. Trying to maximize the causal power of choices and minimize that of circumstances is a worthy goal. It still requires looking at the outcome distribution quantitatively, and admitting that both factors have causal power.
- jeffdavis 10y ago"Only in the sense that I consider individual choice to be "marginalized out" here." Why? "Trying to maximize the causal power of choices and minimize that of circumstances is a worthy goal." I see what you are saying, but I'm not sure we want to take that to an extreme. Diverse, interesting, and challenging circumstances produce a lot of creativity, culture, and happiness.