Beauty, utility, eternity. Pick 2 of 3.
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Nearly 10 years since I made up the first version of this shitpost in 2012. I think the 2021 version is better.
Utility = generalized money
Eternity = asymptotic longevity = long-half-life truth = generalized make-sense ribbonfarm.com/2012/08/09/the
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If you want to avoid infinities, think of it as beauty, utility, longevity
Actually I think I like that better
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The logic of the tradeoff hinges on identifying beauty with a resource surplus used in way that produces a stable signal that serves as a persistent identity over time. Whatever signature identifies a thing as the _same_ thing at 2 points in time is a function of its “beauty.”
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Hm, that's an odd definition of beauty. Something that lasts long and works well tends to be beautiful just out of itself.
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Biological signaling inspired. Eg peacock tail is surplus signal through showy symmetries

