taryneast comments on How to Seem (and Be) Deep - Less Wrong

46 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 14 October 2007 06:13PM

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Comment author: Anders_Sandberg 14 October 2007 08:18:27PM 28 points [-]

I have played with the idea of writing a "wisdom generator" program for a long time. A lot of "wise" statements seem to follow a small set of formulaic rules, and it would not be too hard to make a program that randomly generated wise sayings. A typical rule is to create a paradox ("Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty") or just use a nice chiasm or reversal ("The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is in his heart"). This seems to fit in with your theory: the structure given by the form is enough to trigger recognition that a wise saying will now arrive. If the conclusion is weird or unfamiliar, so much the better.

Currently reading Raymond Smullyan's _The Tao is Silent_, and I'm struck by how much less wise taoism seems when it is clearly explained.

Comment author: taryneast 30 January 2011 04:19:42PM 3 points [-]

You may wish to study the "terribly mysterious" sayings of The Sphinx (from the movie "Mystery Men") for inspiration :)

Comment author: Broggly 30 April 2011 07:45:36AM 7 points [-]

"When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack."