So, I do think it was important to say “this was a post originally shared to FB, and not the sort of thing I normally post on LW”. I might also add a concrete disclaimer: “Poetry.” But, I think being Poetry is different from the idea being unclear.
(Yes, Poetry blurs the line between things. That’s kind of the point of poetry. I think it is actively important for Poetry to accomplish particular goals to blur lines between things. I think it is important, if you’re using the poetry for significant mind-hacking, to after-the-fact be clear about what’s going on. But I think it would have ruined the original post to do it pre-emptively)
To be clear, this post is talking almost entirely about Future Self A (i.e. Mental Construct Best Future Self).
It’s useful to also reflect on B, (i.e. Actual Theoretically Possible Best Future Self), because in order for A to do its job, it’s helpful (at least, I find it so), for it to be built on something real. Or at least, the more real its foundation, the easier it is to trust it.
Actual Best Future Self B (in the actual future) probably doesn’t directly remember the traumatic day where you asked for its help. (Although it can, if you do things like write things down, which might or might not be helpful to you). But I’m mostly not talking to Self B, I’m talking to Self A (mental construct), who is actually here in the moment. Self A is constructed to be a reflection of what Self B would do if they were actually here, telepathically connected.
(I’m not at all confident which combination of these is most useful to the average person, just that I found it helpful on two particular days during the most stressful year of my life)
So, I do think it was important to say “this was a post originally shared to FB, and not the sort of thing I normally post on LW”. I might also add a concrete disclaimer: “Poetry.” But, I think being Poetry is different from the idea being unclear.
(Yes, Poetry blurs the line between things. That’s kind of the point of poetry. I think it is actively important for Poetry to accomplish particular goals to blur lines between things. I think it is important, if you’re using the poetry for significant mind-hacking, to after-the-fact be clear about what’s going on. But I think it would have ruined the original post to do it pre-emptively)
To be clear, this post is talking almost entirely about Future Self A (i.e. Mental Construct Best Future Self).
It’s useful to also reflect on B, (i.e. Actual Theoretically Possible Best Future Self), because in order for A to do its job, it’s helpful (at least, I find it so), for it to be built on something real. Or at least, the more real its foundation, the easier it is to trust it.
Actual Best Future Self B (in the actual future) probably doesn’t directly remember the traumatic day where you asked for its help. (Although it can, if you do things like write things down, which might or might not be helpful to you). But I’m mostly not talking to Self B, I’m talking to Self A (mental construct), who is actually here in the moment. Self A is constructed to be a reflection of what Self B would do if they were actually here, telepathically connected.
(I’m not at all confident which combination of these is most useful to the average person, just that I found it helpful on two particular days during the most stressful year of my life)