Doug_S. comments on If You Demand Magic, Magic Won't Help - Less Wrong

60 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 22 March 2008 06:10PM

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Comment author: Doug_S. 22 March 2008 07:01:01PM 6 points [-]

"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology." - Larry Niven

Comment author: Steven_Bukal 06 July 2011 05:51:08PM 17 points [-]

"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology." - Larry Niven

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science!" - Agatha Heterodyne / Cinderella (explaining what Niven meant), Girl Genius

Comment author: pjeby 06 July 2011 06:03:42PM 10 points [-]

I always heard this one as "Any technology that's distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced." It's a bit more useful as a motivational formula for people developing things than the other formulations. ;-)

Comment author: DanielLC 04 March 2012 07:14:51PM *  15 points [-]

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.

-- Barry Gehm

Personally, I think this one is more accurate:

Any technology, no matter how primitive, is magic to those who don't understand it.

-- Florence Ambrose

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