J_Taylor comments on Post ridiculous munchkin ideas! - Less Wrong

55 Post author: D_Malik 15 May 2013 10:27PM

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Comment author: J_Taylor 11 May 2013 12:35:20AM 2 points [-]

This is incredibly pedantic. (Also rather unjustified, due to my own lack of knowledge regarding occult enthusiasts.) However:

It's interesting that demons in computer science are called that way. They have exactly the same functionality as the demons that occult enthusiasts proclaim to use.

Although daemons in computer science are rather akin to daemons in classical mythology (sort of, kind of, close enough), they really don't particularly resemble our modern conception of demons. I mean, they can totally get a programmer into "Sorcerer's Apprentice"-style shenanigans, but I've never heard of a daemon tempting anyone.

You can always say: "Well, it's just my mind doing something strange." At the same time it's a hard confrontation.

I have previously recommend to friends that alcohol is a moderately good way to develop empathy for those less intelligent than oneself. (That is, it is a good way for those who really cannot comprehend the way other people get confused by certain ideas). I wager that there are a wide array of methods to gain knowledge of some of the stranger confusions the human mind is a capable of. Ignoring chemical means, sleep deprivation is probably the simplest.

Also, congratulations for going through these experiences and retaining (what I assume is) a coherent and rational belief-system. A lot of people would not.

Comment author: Armok_GoB 11 May 2013 02:20:44AM 17 points [-]

but I've never heard of a daemon tempting anyone.

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Comment author: ChristianKl 11 May 2013 11:40:52AM *  2 points [-]

I mean, they can totally get a programmer into "Sorcerer's Apprentice"-style shenanigans, but I've never heard of a daemon tempting anyone.

Computer daemons don't tempt people. There's little danger is using them. At least as long they aren't AGI's. Tulpa's are something like AGI's that don't run on computer but on your own brain.

D_Malik read a proposal for creating tulpas with specifically tell the reader that they aren't supposed to created for "practical purposes". After reading it he thinks: "Hey, if tulpa can do those things, we can probably create them for a lot of practical purposes."

That looks like a textbook example of temptation to me. I don't want to advocate that you never give in to such temptations but just taking there Tulpa creation manual and changing a bit to make the Tulpa more "practical" doesn't sound like a good strategy to me.

The best framework for doing something like this might be hypnosis. It's practioners are more "reasonable" than magick people.

Also, congratulations for going through these experiences and retaining (what I assume is) a coherent and rational belief-system.

This and related experiences caused me to become more agnostic over a bunch of things.