[HN Gopher] Call Your Local Wizard
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Call Your Local Wizard
Author : drdee
Score : 26 points
Date : 2024-06-01 06:10 UTC (16 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (slate.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (slate.com)
| koolala wrote:
| Universal eclipse coming up
| swayvil wrote:
| And the 13 year and 17 year cicada swarms are at their 300 year
| coincidence.
|
| It's a sure sign of something
| topherclay wrote:
| >Rather coyly, Stanmore refuses to weigh in on the efficacy of
| such spells. "It is not my place to say whether the magic
| practiced by cunning folk was real," she writes: "I don't know, I
| wasn't there." She does propose that all of their fellow citizens
| believed in the cunning folk's powers. Many magicians had
| excellent reputations in the art of finding buried treasure or
| directing the outcome of lawsuits, and she maintains that this
| could only be the result of a consistent record of success.
|
| That last line of this quote and the first line of this quote
| sound to me like they contradict each other.
| wavemode wrote:
| You can have a consistent reputation for success without having
| real magical powers.
|
| Being lucky is an option. ("I shall cause it to rain" and it
| just so happens to rain.)
|
| Outsmarting your client is another option. ("I shall cause it
| to rain... tomorrow" - meanwhile, you have used meteorology to
| predict that it will rain tomorrow.
|
| Lies and rumors are a third option. ("That magician can make it
| rain! I saw it with my own eyes!" meanwhile it's actually just
| a baseless rumor which has circulated around town for a while.)
| TrainedMonkey wrote:
| Confirmation bias is a thing. If you believe that magical
| powers are real you will find a way to explain away when it
| does not work while celebrating loudly when it does. For
| example if your wizard cannot cause rain it's because the
| curse is too powerful etc. Additionally growing up with
| something, such as when everyone around you believes
| something, makes it somewhat unlikely that you will question
| it. Finally, if everyone around you believes something there
| is strong pressure to do the same thing to fit in.
|
| I have a theory that a lot of mental biases could be
| explained by energy minimization - changing beliefs requires
| brain reconfiguration which is expensive, so we tend not to
| do it... unless it's imperative to survival.
| Jensson wrote:
| > I have a theory that a lot of mental biases could be
| explained by energy minimization - changing beliefs
| requires brain reconfiguration which is expensive, so we
| tend not to do it... unless it's imperative to survival.
|
| I am pretty sure this is a very variable trait among
| humans, some change their mind easily others almost never
| change their mind. Its expensive as you say, probably
| communities survive best when some change their mind easily
| and most keep their mind steady and only change when
| presented overwhelming evidence (usually from the minority
| that easily change).
| empath75 wrote:
| People who do that kind of thing for a living are very good
| at setting low expectations for success and blaming outside
| forces for failures and taking credit for every lucky hit.
| Dowsers, cold readers, etc.. it hasn't changed for centuries
| and con artists and magicians use all the same techniques
| today.
| stevenAthompson wrote:
| Later the article discusses how some of those results were
| achieved via the application of psychology, which does explain
| why some might have excellent records of success.
| swayvil wrote:
| The same could be said of any technology.
| rfrey wrote:
| What does this mean? The excellent results of antibiotics
| could be the result of psychology? CPUs? Lasers? Satellite
| imagery?
| m463 wrote:
| (can't help but think of the fixer in pulp fiction)
|
| VINCENT: _I said a "please" would be nice._
|
| _the Wolf takes a step towards him_
|
| THE WOLF: _Set it straight, Buster. I 'm not here to say
| "please". I'm here to tell you what to do. And if self-
| preservation is an instinct you possess, you better fuckin' do
| it and do it quick. I'm here to help. If my help's not
| appreciated, lotsa luck gentlemen._
|
| JULES: _It ain 't that way, Mr. Wolf. Your help is definitely
| appreciated._
|
| VINCENT: _I don 't mean any disrespect. I just don't like
| people barkin' orders at me._
|
| THE WOLF: _If I 'm curt with you, it's because time is a
| factor. I think fast, I talk fast, and I need you guys to act
| fast if you want to get out of this. So pretty please, with
| sugar on top, clean the fuckin' car._
| mrkeen wrote:
| > Stanmore refuses to weigh in on the efficacy of such spells.
| "It is not my place to say whether the magic practiced by cunning
| folk was real," she writes: "I don't know, I wasn't there."
|
| Ok...
|
| > Many magicians had excellent reputations in the art of finding
| buried treasure or directing the outcome of lawsuits, and she
| maintains that this could only be the result of a consistent
| record of success.
|
| So you _do_ believe but it 's too shameful to admit.
| mbreese wrote:
| It doesn't have to be "real" for people to believe it is real.
| And really, it doesn't matter if it was "real" if people
| believed it was real.
|
| Because if people believe something is real, it can have a real
| world impact, regardless of whether or not the "magic" was
| "real".
|
| People are strange like that and medieval people would have
| been no different from us in this regard.
| aaplok wrote:
| > Many magicians had excellent reputations [...] She maintains
| that this could only be the result of a consistent record of
| success.
|
| For a modern version of this phenomenon, check out any discussion
| about chatGPT here on HN. Things haven't changed all that much.
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