Theist comments on The Strangest Thing An AI Could Tell You - Less Wrong

81 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 15 July 2009 02:27AM

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Comment author: Marcello 15 July 2009 04:29:57PM 39 points [-]
  • We actually live in hyperspace: our universe really has four spacial dimensions. However, our bodies are fully four dimensional; we are not wafer thin slices a la flatland. We don't perceive there to be four dimensions because our visual cortexes have a defect somewhat like that of people who can't notice anything on the right side of their visual field.

  • Not only do we have an absolute denial macro, but it is a programmable absolute denial macro and there are things much like computer viruses which use it and spread through human population. That is, if you modulated your voice in a certain way at someone, it would cause them (and you) to acquire a brand new self deception, and start transmitting it to others.

  • Some of the people you believe are dead are actually alive, but no matter how hard they try to get other people to notice them, their actions are immediately forgotten and any changes caused by those actions are rationalized away.

  • There are transparent contradictions inherent in all current mathematical systems for reasoning about real numbers, but no human mathematician/physicist can notice them because they rely heavily on visuospacial reasoning to construct real analysis proofs.

Comment author: Theist 15 July 2009 07:47:03PM 6 points [-]

Some of the people you believe are dead are actually alive, but no matter how hard they try to get other people to notice them, their actions are immediately forgotten and any changes caused by those actions are rationalized away.

Fabulous story idea.

Comment author: robryk 03 October 2010 07:35:12PM 6 points [-]

Actually, it was used in Terry Pratchett's ``Mort''.

Comment author: JoshuaZ 06 December 2013 09:01:19PM 0 points [-]

This seems to be one of the many examples of cross-fertilization between Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, since this is a major aspect of Gaiman's "Neverwhere".

Comment author: emhs 06 December 2013 06:38:38AM 2 points [-]

There's a character in Worm that has this power. People don't think of her as dead, but her power allows her to be immediately forgotten, and exude a SEP field while it's active. Some people are immune to it, but it's kinda awesome.

Comment author: ygert 06 December 2013 07:34:55AM 6 points [-]

I was going to write something about a certain character from Luminosity, but it's not important.

Comment author: Ritalin 06 December 2013 09:29:58AM -1 points [-]

What's that?

Comment author: ygert 06 December 2013 11:43:37AM 1 point [-]

Never mind, it doesn't matter.

Comment author: Ritalin 07 December 2013 02:34:49PM 0 points [-]

I know who you meant, man, I was setting up an Airplane! joke...

Comment author: ygert 07 December 2013 03:52:53PM *  0 points [-]

Yeah, OK. Sorry, I've never seen Airplane!.

Now I am going to stop chattering about unimportant nonsense and go off and do something actually interesting.

Comment author: shminux 06 December 2013 09:22:05PM *  1 point [-]

Magical unnoticeabilty is common in fantasy. Allirea's power in Alicorn's Radiance is very similar to Imp's.

Comment author: CronoDAS 06 December 2013 08:39:05PM 1 point [-]

There's a semi-famous short story "Nobody Bothers Gus" by Algis Budrys that runs on this premise. The main character of the old Piers Anthony novel Mute also makes people forget him as soon as they leave his presence.

Comment author: NihilCredo 25 September 2010 06:08:51PM 1 point [-]

It was actually an occasional fantasy of mine to be able to switch to such a state and then figure out how much fun I could have. The ultimate freedom - have your meals by stealing a king's plate, enjoy sports matches from the middle of the field, go listen to what they really talk about in the UN backroom deals, slap [insert disliked celebrity] ten times a day, joyride a fighter jet...

Comment author: Magnap 11 April 2015 02:53:11PM 0 points [-]

It is a power of the witches in Lyra's world in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials".