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Towards a more Elvish vision of technology
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Two kinds of magic. "Human" magic extends power over the world while minimizing dependence on it. "Elvish" magic extends understanding while minimizing interference.
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Human magic ends in world-amputation. Destroy the world you no longer need. Elvish magic ends in self-amputation: dissolve into the world you finally understand.
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Clarke said sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. For Elves, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from nature.
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Our final conquest is death. Unable to forbid our own, we master it by dealing it to others. Such is mortal magic: chasing immortality, manufacturing corpses.
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Give it enough time and every problem solves itself. Instant solutions demand infinite energy and unthinkable side-effects. Slow isn't lazy — it's precise.
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Rebalance, don't choose. Treat outcomes as processes, not states. Treat resources as agents with behaviors, not materials with qualities. Treat information as output, not just input.
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We are becoming Elves. Longer lives, deeper understanding, godlike powers. Lorenz warned: new weapons demand new inhibitions. Our paradigm must evolve with our power.
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The first step to immortality is acting as if we already were.
Original published: July 3, 2021