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Towards a more Elvish vision of technology
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There are 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. We call it technology. Tolkien called Magic and Machine the same thing: "the desire for Power, for making the will more quickly effective." Remove the world's friction, and you remove its power.
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Elvish magic ends in self-amputation. Deep understanding dissolves the observer. When the dog discovers its Buddha nature, it stops being a dog. The fading of the Elves is the feeding of the world.
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For Humans, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. For Elves, it's indistinguishable from nature. Not biomimicry — getting out of the way. Give it enough time and every problem solves itself.
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Three shifts toward a middle path: Outcome is a process, not a state — grow houses, don't build them. Resources are agents, not materials — even concrete has a mind of its own. Information is an output, not just an input — we act so we can learn.
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Our powers have grown; our paradigm hasn't. Lorenz: a species that develops a weapon capable of killing at one blow must simultaneously develop the inhibition against using it.
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If we are turning into gods, we have to get good at it. The first step to immortality is acting as if we already were.
Original published: July 3, 2021