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Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:27:50 -0500 (EST)
To: improvetheworld &AElig umich.edu
From: Daniel Reeves <dreeves &AElig umich.edu>
Subject: yootles and sex and death
Status: RO

I'd like to move the thread below to improvetheworld.  In particular, do 
any of you have any additions to the list at the bottom of this email?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dave Morris <thecat &AElig umich.edu>
Subject: Re: WHITEBOARD yootles VERSION 121

Good point about the value of human lives. If you can quantify the risks people 
are willing to take in an emotionally acceptable/effective venue (i.e. people 
aren't bidding to let you shoot them in the head, they're bidding to let you 
remove their safety belts etc.), then that can help guide our government in 
quantifying how much they should spend on ridiculously useless safety 
precautions that are guaranteed to cost way more than they're expected 
(expected value of benefit to society) save.    That's cool.

Dave

On Oct 28, 2006, at 1:04 PM, Daniel Reeves wrote:

> I guess a dating service is an obvious way to monetize mate-finding.
> If you wanted to get more extreme you could imagine a social institution that 
> involved a betting pool among the 2 people who start dating so that you can 
> hedge against the risk of wasting your time on dates that won't lead to 
> marriage.  That may well amount to the more interested (desperate) party 
> paying the less desperate party to "give them a chance."
> 
> Interesting thought experiment.
> 
> As for the utility of a human life, that's easy.  It's about 20 million 
> dollars.  Or was it 2 million?  I forgot.  Some number of millions.
> It feels objectionable to say something less than infinity but in fact it's 
> logically incoherent to say infinity.  Based on how much we're willing to 
> spend on safety equipment in cars, how much more pay we need for risky jobs, 
> how often we deem it worth it to overhaul/re-inspect planes, etc etc -- an 
> implicit value on human life can be inferred.
> 
> 
> --- \/   FROM Dave Morris AT 06.10.28 10:01 (Today)   \/ ---
> 
>> I fail to see how yootles can help you choose a mate. What's the thought 
>> there?

>> Or is it like a dating service? I'll pay you one million yootles to find me 
>> the right person?
>> 
>> Just curious.
>> 
>> And [DTH]? How many yootles is the value of a human life anyway? Hmmm.
>> 
>> On Oct 27, 2006, at 6:23 PM, WHITEBOARD-AGENT wrote:
>> 
>>> Someone thought the following update to the whiteboard was worth your
>>> attention.  But please check the web for the actual latest version.
>>> http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves/whiteboard/yootles/


LIST OF THINGS IN SOCIETY THAT ARE NOT MONETIZED/YOOTLIFIED THAT COULD BE:
   (add any crazy thing you can think of -- it's just brainstorming)

[RID] getting a ride to the airport from a friend
[DIN] voting on what to have for dinner
[LOV] choosing a mate
[MOV] helping someone move
[ADV] seeking advice
[DIV] dividing up chores
[MTG] picking a time for a meeting
[FIL] p2p file sharing
[IMG] image tagging
[WIK] wiki editing
[BET] beta testing
[PRI] prioritizing help-desk requests
[FAV] miscellaneous small favors from friends/family (includes MOV, RID,
       shopping, etc)
[POT] deciding who should bring what for a potluck
[ACT] picking activities, destinations, events for vacations / dates /
       evenings out, etc
[MYN] prioritizing and allocating computational resources
[HEA] health care (triage, pain scores, various insurance issues)
[DTH] the value of life
[BAB] baby-sitting club (parents taking turns babysitting)
[TIP] tipping on blogs
[DIG] news aggregation and editorial tasks
[REP] reputation systems
[DSH] taking turns loading the dishwasher / taking out the garbage /
       cleaning the bathroom / etc.
[RES] pick which of us has to drive / book flights / pick up tickets /
       make appointment / etc.
[NAM] deciding what to name one's child
[SPM] spam control
[FUT] corporate policy making (futarchy)
[ANS] a much better alternative to points on Yahoo!Answers!
[CWA] is it really a free world? [I don't understand this question;
       elaborate? --dreeves]
[PIF] payitforwardmovement.org
[OSS] incentive system for open-source development, yootles voting for new
       features