3 ms·

Enchantment is just the measure of the quality of our attention Modulo the attention that leads to enchantment is a privilege. When a person's world is full of

Enchantment is just the measure of the quality of our attention Modulo the attention that leads to enchantment is a privilege. When a person's world is full of actual danger, bending down to smell the flowers can be a fatal vulnerability. Or to put it another way, lack of enchantment is not a moral failing any more than disenchantment is a virtue. Other people's circumstances are not what bliss-ninnies project upon them any more than they are the projections of cynics, conspiracy theorists and paranoids.

dalmo3 2y ago
What does "modulo" mean in your first sentence?
- bubblyworld 2y ago
  It's a maths people phrase - usually it means something like "this is true if you ignore these counterexamples". For instance: my code is perfect, modulo all the bugs everyone keeps finding. I guess the analogy is the modulo operation removing a whole bunch of stuff from a number? I don't know haha.
  - maxbond 2y ago
    My interpretation is that it's related to modulate. Like how you might modulate the volume to reduce it (without muting it), "X is true modulo Y" means that Y makes X less true (but not untrue). I didn't find any evidence for this etymology from casual searching however (other than that the roots are related).
_yb2s 2y ago
I’m not sure privilege is the right way to think about this- but chronic stress definitely shifts the world to being unenchanted. I remember living in an enchanted world as a kid, and it can return with something as simple as a breathing exercise, meditation, or sitting in a forest hot spring.
- brudgers 2y ago
  I imagine — so I admit it might not be the case — your childhood contained ample food and not a lot of violence, want, and abuse. That’s why I used “privilege.” There is probably a better word but I can’t think of it.
  - _yb2s 2y ago
    I think you’re talking about emotional trauma- which can be caused by a lot of things- including but not limited to the type of difficult childhood you are mentioning.
tomjen3 2y ago
The number of people in that actual danger is absolutely minute and not worth commenting on.

dalmo3 2y ago

What does "modulo" mean in your first sentence?

bubblyworld 2y ago
It's a maths people phrase - usually it means something like "this is true if you ignore these counterexamples". For instance: my code is perfect, modulo all the bugs everyone keeps finding. I guess the analogy is the modulo operation removing a whole bunch of stuff from a number? I don't know haha.
- maxbond 2y ago
  My interpretation is that it's related to modulate. Like how you might modulate the volume to reduce it (without muting it), "X is true modulo Y" means that Y makes X less true (but not untrue). I didn't find any evidence for this etymology from casual searching however (other than that the roots are related).

_yb2s 2y ago

I’m not sure privilege is the right way to think about this- but chronic stress definitely shifts the world to being unenchanted. I remember living in an enchanted world as a kid, and it can return with something as simple as a breathing exercise, meditation, or sitting in a forest hot spring.

brudgers 2y ago
I imagine — so I admit it might not be the case — your childhood contained ample food and not a lot of violence, want, and abuse. That’s why I used “privilege.” There is probably a better word but I can’t think of it.
- _yb2s 2y ago
  I think you’re talking about emotional trauma- which can be caused by a lot of things- including but not limited to the type of difficult childhood you are mentioning.

tomjen3 2y ago

The number of people in that actual danger is absolutely minute and not worth commenting on.