User:Otheus/OTV
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Otheus' Theory of Value or OTV is a particular ethical theory of value discovered in 1994 and named after its discoverer, User:Otheus. Like many aspects of ethics, it attempts to provide a general solution for dealing with dilemmas and choices, yielding decisions which over time, become increasingly ethical. Its primary utility is the efficiency at which decisions can be made.
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[edit] Procedure
OTV first assumes that a dilemma exists between exactly two alternatives. One alternative is arbitrarily assigned the value of H, while the other is assigned the value of T. A minted coin, usually one of one's own local currency, or possibly one of commemorative mint, is selected and tossed high into the air. This coin should then be allowed to land on a flat surface. If none is available, the alternate procedure would be to use one hand to snatch the coin out of the air and then to slap the coin-laden hand on the opposing forearm, so that the coin rests flat against against it. Whichever side of the coin is shown face-up (ie, not against the flat surface) is compared against the values assigned to the two alternatives. If the coin's "head" is showing, then the alternative assigned the value H is the preliminary declared choice. However, if the coin's "tail" is showing, then the alternative T is the preliminary declared choice.
The preliminary choice is then compared to the decision-maker's feelings. If the decision-maker's impulse or desire is to "flip again" or say "best 2 out of 3" or other such evasions, OTV states that the decision-maker already knows what the "right" answer is: the other alternative. There is no need to proceed with an actual second coin flip. However, if the decision-maker's impulse is to "keep" the coin's "answer", it is either because (a) the decision-maker knows that this represents the "right" answer or (b) the decision-maker is completely impartial. If the case is (a), the decision-maker has confirmation that the cosmos and the laws of probability are on his or her side and can boldly and confidently chose this alternative. However, if the case is actually (b), it means that there really was no effective difference between the two alternatives, and the decision-maker can simply boldly and confidently chose this alternative, as if (a) were the case.
Either way, the decision is quickly made, and the decision-maker is then allowed to make choices, from which he or she can learn from and use as additional input in basing future decisions.
[edit] Extensions
OTV does not explicitly recognize dilemmas consisting of more than two alternatives. However, it is recognized that often dilemmas involve multiple alternatives. The binary extension to OTV expands to alternative-space into sets of binary decisions. The pattern is similar to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in which 65 teams are narrowed down to 1. Two alternatives are arbitrarily chosen, narrowing down the field to 64. This field is then subdivided into 32 sets of alternative-pairs. From this, 16 alternative-pairs are match, and so on, until it is down to a "final four". At this point, the decision-maker is encouraged to invite friends and family over for a picnic and adult beverages as preface to the final coin-flippings.
Seeding the original set of alternatives is beyond the scope of ODMT and is left as an exercise for the reader.
[edit] Analysis
The theory has been criticised for failing to account for the remote possibility that the coin lands on its edge. Others have claimed that such a possibility merely exposes the irreducible uncertainty at the heart of all ethical questions, and thus in fact validates the theory. It would be theoretically possible to resolve this dispute using the OTV.
[edit] Efficiency
Given n alternatives, and using the binary extension to ODMT, a decision can be made in O(log2 n) time. Given that a single coin flip can be executed within a span of 5 seconds, decisions of over 64000 alternatives can be made within a single day.[citation needed]
== Criticism ==
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No known critics of OTV are currently living. It is believed by some that those who have found criticism of OTV met an untimely and unlikely death.
