This was great. I appreciate that it exists, and I want more stories like it to exist.
As a model for what I’d actually want myself, the world felt kind of unsatisfying, though the bar I’m holding it to is exceptionally high—total coverage of my utility-satisfaction-fun-variety function. I think I care about doing things in base reality without help or subconscious knowledge of safety. Also, I see a clinging to human mindspace even when unnecessary. Mainly an adherence to certain basic metaphors of living in a physical reality. Things like space and direction and talking and sound and light and places. It seems kind of quaintly skeuomorphic. I realize that it’s hard to write outside those metaphors though.
the world felt kind of unsatisfying, though the bar I’m holding it to is exceptionally high—total coverage of my utility-satisfaction-fun-variety function.
Would you expect to be able to achieve that—maybe eventually—within the world described?
It seems kind of quaintly skeuomorphic. I realize that it’s hard to write outside those metaphors though.
It’s partially that, and partially indicative of the prudence in the approach. Because a self-modifying human mind could end up almost anywhere in mindspace, I conceived of the Powers going out of their way to connect humans with their “roots”. There’s the extended “humanish” mindspace, where agents remain moral subjects, but I’m conceiving the majority of people to remain clustered to a smaller space around baseline human (though still a huge mindspace by our standards).
But you’re right, I could have been less skeuomorphic (a word to savour). I can only plead that a) it would have meant packing more concepts into a story already over-packed with exposition, and b) I would have had to predict what metaphors and tools people would have come up with within virtual reality, and I’m not sure I’d have come up with convincing or plausible ones (see all those “a day in the life of someone in 50 years time” types of stories).
Would you expect to be able to achieve that—maybe eventually—within the world described?
Definitely. I expect the mindspace part to actually be pretty simple. We can do it in uncontrolled ways right now with dreams and drugs. I guess I kind of meant something like those, only internally consistent and persistent and comprehensible.
The part about caring about base reality is the kind of vague, weak preference that I’d probably be willing to temporarily trade away. Toss me somewhere in the physical universe and lock away the memory that someone’s keeping an eye on me. That preference may be more load-bearing than I currently understand though, and there may be more preferences like it. I’m sure the Powers could figure it out though.
It’s partially that, and partially indicative of the prudence in the approach.
Perfectly understandable. I’d hope for exploration of outer reaches of mindspace in a longer-form version though.
That doesn’t seem too hard. Actually being in the physical universe might be deemed to be too expensive (or you might have to go to great lengths to earn that possibility). Removing that memory is fine, especially with your permission, but the Powers might add a weak superstition or belief in providence to replace the specific knowledge that someone is watching.
I’d hope for exploration of outer reaches of mindspace in a longer-form version though.
That was partially Boon’s role here, but that was exploring increased intelligence rather than more quirky possibilities.
Basically there are some areas of mindspace that are completely ruled out (continual pain without enjoyment but not motivation to change that), some that are permitted only if they’re very rare, some that are allowed for most but not all, and some that are allowable for anyone (eg pleasure sensations). As usual, the Powers prefer to use social tools and tricks to enforce those proportions, coercively intervening very rarely.
This was great. I appreciate that it exists, and I want more stories like it to exist.
As a model for what I’d actually want myself, the world felt kind of unsatisfying, though the bar I’m holding it to is exceptionally high—total coverage of my utility-satisfaction-fun-variety function. I think I care about doing things in base reality without help or subconscious knowledge of safety. Also, I see a clinging to human mindspace even when unnecessary. Mainly an adherence to certain basic metaphors of living in a physical reality. Things like space and direction and talking and sound and light and places. It seems kind of quaintly skeuomorphic. I realize that it’s hard to write outside those metaphors though.
Cheers :-)
Would you expect to be able to achieve that—maybe eventually—within the world described?
It’s partially that, and partially indicative of the prudence in the approach. Because a self-modifying human mind could end up almost anywhere in mindspace, I conceived of the Powers going out of their way to connect humans with their “roots”. There’s the extended “humanish” mindspace, where agents remain moral subjects, but I’m conceiving the majority of people to remain clustered to a smaller space around baseline human (though still a huge mindspace by our standards).
But you’re right, I could have been less skeuomorphic (a word to savour). I can only plead that a) it would have meant packing more concepts into a story already over-packed with exposition, and b) I would have had to predict what metaphors and tools people would have come up with within virtual reality, and I’m not sure I’d have come up with convincing or plausible ones (see all those “a day in the life of someone in 50 years time” types of stories).
Definitely. I expect the mindspace part to actually be pretty simple. We can do it in uncontrolled ways right now with dreams and drugs. I guess I kind of meant something like those, only internally consistent and persistent and comprehensible. The part about caring about base reality is the kind of vague, weak preference that I’d probably be willing to temporarily trade away. Toss me somewhere in the physical universe and lock away the memory that someone’s keeping an eye on me. That preference may be more load-bearing than I currently understand though, and there may be more preferences like it. I’m sure the Powers could figure it out though.
Perfectly understandable. I’d hope for exploration of outer reaches of mindspace in a longer-form version though.
That doesn’t seem too hard. Actually being in the physical universe might be deemed to be too expensive (or you might have to go to great lengths to earn that possibility). Removing that memory is fine, especially with your permission, but the Powers might add a weak superstition or belief in providence to replace the specific knowledge that someone is watching.
That was partially Boon’s role here, but that was exploring increased intelligence rather than more quirky possibilities.
Basically there are some areas of mindspace that are completely ruled out (continual pain without enjoyment but not motivation to change that), some that are permitted only if they’re very rare, some that are allowed for most but not all, and some that are allowable for anyone (eg pleasure sensations). As usual, the Powers prefer to use social tools and tricks to enforce those proportions, coercively intervening very rarely.