Magic

Related conceptsBlog posts

• Universal Fire
• Excluding the Supernatural
• Magical Categories
• If You Demand Magic, Magic Won't Help
• The Futility of Emergence

See also

Blog posts

• Universal Fire
• Excluding the Supernatural
• Magical Categories
• If You Demand Magic, Magic Won't HelpMysterious Answers to Mysterious Questions

• Universal Fire by Eliezer Yudkowsky
• Excluding the Supernatural by Eliezer Yudkowsky
• Magical Categories by Eliezer Yudkowsky
• If You Demand Magic, Magic Won't Help by Eliezer Yudkowsky

Traditional depictions of magic would seem to require introducing complex ontologically fundamental entities: some magician or sorceress says the right words and performs some ritual, and some part of the universe obeys their will. But how does it know when to obey someone's will? The stated conditions for the effect are far too complex to be implemented by a simple arrangement of mechanistic laws, the complexity of magic must be at least that of minds. What seems to humans like a simple explanation, sometimes isn't at all.

In our own naturalistic, reductionist universe, it doesn't work this way: minds are made out of simple, mathematically-describable parts.there is always a simpler explanation. Any complicated thing that happens, happens because there is some physical mechanism behind it, even if you don't know the mechanism yourself (which is most of the time). There is no magic.

Traditional depictions of magic would seem to require ontologically fundamental entities: some magician or sorceress says the right words and performs some ritual, and some part of the universe obeys their will. In our own naturalistic, reductionist universe, it doesn't work this way: minds are made out of simple, mathematically-describable parts. Any complicated thing that happens, happens because there is some physical mechanism behind it, even if you don't know the mechanism yourself (which is most of the time). There is no magic.

Expecting magical effects inTraditional depictions of magic would seem to require ontologically fundamental entities: some magician or sorceress says the natural world is much more difficult than it might seem. Magic usually involves effects that require intelligence to carry through,right words and so the complexity of magic must be at least that of minds. A category that can only be recognized by a mindperforms some ritual, and not simpler mechanism is called "magical category". It won't be useful in explanationssome part of the natural mindless processes. One interesting varietyuniverse obeys their will. In our own naturalistic, reductionist universe, it doesn't work this way: minds are made out of simple, mathematically-describable parts. Any complicated thing that happens, happens because there is sympathetic magicsome physical mechanism behind it, even if you don't know the mechanism yourself (which is most of the time).

• Sympathetic magic
• Mind projection fallacy, Detached lever fallacy
• Occam's razor, Fake simplicity
• Unsupervised universe
• Joy in the merely real
• Magical categories