Life is all about killing the magic

http://www.micaelwidell.com/p/19/

by micaelwidell • 13 years ago

25 17 13 years ago

tel2• 13 years ago

If anything I've learned that the fastest way to discover just unboundedly large amounts of magic is to try to kill that of it which you know.

Fields don't die---they deepen fractal-like.

JacksonGariety• 13 years ago

I agree with this.

The author said he has learned everything about computers and the magic is gone, because it understands them.

Is this really possible? The world of computers and the internet is so deep, it seems like someone could study for their whole lives and never fully understand it all.

fragsworth• 13 years ago

Is this really possible?

Yeah, you can definitely understand computers to the point that nothing about them is really mysterious. It takes a while, but lots of people have done it. There might be lots that you aren't aware of - but none of it will come as a surprise once you've learned how it all works.

I guess at some fundamental level, though, it's based on (quantum) physics, and lots of that is still mysterious to us. But that's way deeper than anything you come across with computers.

Tichy2• 13 years ago

If he knows all there is to know about computers, perhaps he can tell us whether P = NP.

vinceguidry2• 13 years ago

Most computer scientists feel that P != NP and it's just a matter of figuring out a way to prove it.

m0th87• 13 years ago

Then it's a good thing computer science isn't driven by feelings.

andrewflnr• 13 years ago

It is possible for something to be unknown and still boring, not "magical" or "intriguing".

Tichy2• 13 years ago

People have personal preferences, I suppose. But the approach to kill the magic seems weird - I'd expect things to become more magical the more I learn about them.

freyrs3• 13 years ago

If you think you've learned everything about a field, you've just scratched the surface.

dchichkov2• 13 years ago

That is, unless you do have a good general knowledge of the field, up-to-date with recent research and have publications of your own.

friedliver• 13 years ago

I can see why one would think they know everything about a field just because one "has a good general knowledge of the field, up to date with recent research, and have publications of your own" for the following fact (noted by Donald Rumsfeld)

"There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know."

codex• 13 years ago

The downside of attempting to kill all the magic in the world is that, should you ever succeed, you will be so bored you will want to die. I was never so happy as I was as a child, when everything was fresh and new. I try keep a little bit of magic unknown still. Fortunately that's pretty easy to do in today's world.

reedlaw• 13 years ago

Why not try the opposite approach? That is, try to find magic in everyday things.

Choronzon• 13 years ago

If understanding computers kills the magic then someone has completely missed the point. Computers are a tool to be used,not a mystery to be solved,and there is plenty of magic using them to explore to build and to solve actual mysteries.

If you understand a hammer and chisel fully it does not make you Michelangelo.

Life is all about killing the magic

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