Daoist Methodologies

Daoist Methodologies explores the intersection of Daoist philosophy, artificial intelligence, political theory, and ancient Chinese texts. It examines learning in non-human systems, political order models, AI development, and procedural analyses of socio-political phenomena. The content integrates historical wisdom with modern technology and governance concepts.

Daoist Philosophy Artificial Intelligence Political Theory Ancient Chinese Texts Learning Models Political Order Technology in Governance

The hottest Substack posts of Daoist Methodologies

And their main takeaways

Learning the Language of Rain

176 implied HN points • 17 Oct 23
🔬 Science Neural Networks Information Theory Data processing Entropy
  1. Huawei's Pangu AI model shows promise in weather prediction, outperforming some standard models in accuracy and speed.
  2. Google's Metnet models, using neural networks, excel in predicting weather based on images of rain clouds, showcasing novel ways to approach weather simulation.
  3. Neural networks are efficient in processing complex data, like rain cloud images, to extract detailed information and act as entropy sinks, providing insights into real-world phenomena simulation.

The 80-20 Rule and the Trickster Archetype

216 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
📚 Literature Archetypes Philosophy Historical Fiction Biography Mythology
  1. The Trickster Archetype is a quasi-universal figure known for being amoral, oafish, and ultimately successful despite failures.
  2. In the Stratagems, Qin Shihuang is portrayed as a trickster god figure, providing insightful assessments and charm in his actions.
  3. Individuals who take high-risk, trial-and-error approaches in chaotic situations may appear as 'serene bumblers' but strategically use repeated failures to achieve success.

Artificial Intelligences in the Guanzi and the Han Feizi

275 implied HN points • 20 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning
  1. Confucians and Daoists have different approaches to learning: acquiring proven vs. eliminating disproven methods.
  2. Learning can occur without a brain: different entities like dogs, rivers, and markets learn without understanding.
  3. Systems can learn independently without human input, like in the case of artificial intelligence drawing from socio-political systems described in ancient texts.

Water-Deer-Government

176 implied HN points • 02 Oct 22
  1. The Chinese character for law 法 has roots in ancient symbols like water and mythical creatures.
  2. Deer motifs in early Chinese art and culture were associated with shamans and likely symbolized trance states.
  3. Deer imagery in ancient China may have represented a connection to the spirit world and a form of government advice and protection.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Self-Sustaining Systems

137 implied HN points • 04 Dec 22
  1. Different types of systems exist: carrot systems driven by goals and gravity systems driven by inertia
  2. Carrot systems are relatively easy to design but hard to control evolution, while gravity systems are hard to design but replicate intentions faithfully
  3. In both systems, the behavior of individuals is chaotic, but gravity systems are harder to steer off track

The Monopoly of Legitimate Benevolence

137 implied HN points • 08 Dec 21
  1. In Chinese leadership, making followers rich is crucial, unlike in the Anglo-European tradition where a leader defends people from threats.
  2. Chinese political thought emphasizes power through sharing wealth and providing practical benefits to attract followers.
  3. The Chinese model of political organization focuses on the monopoly of legitimate benevolence, where leaders gain power by providing material benefits to followers.

Procedural Models of Political Order

78 implied HN points • 01 Oct 21
  1. The purpose of a model is to identify important inputs for producing desired outputs.
  2. Irrationality at an individual level may not significantly impact macro-level market phenomena.
  3. Political structures are defined by followers rather than leaders.

Statistics with Zhuangzi

78 implied HN points • 20 Sep 21
  1. Cause and effect relationships are not always linear; one unit of something may not always lead to an expected result.
  2. When optimizing decisions, consider not just maximizing gains and minimizing risks, but also consider psychological factors and hidden variables.
  3. Focus on understanding the bigger picture and the underlying principles rather than just following rules or relying on specific data points.

Procedural Models of Political Order: Technical Background

19 implied HN points • 01 Oct 21
  1. Political systems in the Western and Chinese spheres differ in their origins and focus
  2. Legitimacy in Chinese-influenced political systems leans towards economic factors
  3. Models have been created to simulate and understand the dynamics of political orders in both Chinese and Anglo-European systems

Why it is Impossible to Program a General AI Using Conventional Methods

39 implied HN points • 04 Jun 20
  1. Instruction-based programming for AI faces limitations due to contradictory instructions and prohibitions
  2. For General AI to handle infinite and unpredictable scenarios, iterative or fractal systems are necessary
  3. Iterative systems can generate complex AI with minimal global prohibitions

分析《战国策》韩三·谓郑王：运用高科技手段解决中国古代谜团

19 implied HN points • 24 Feb 21
  1. The text discusses the analysis of a chapter in the 'Strategies of the Warring States' that may have been written by Han Feizi.
  2. There is a focus on using advanced text analysis to identify similarities between the chapter and works attributed to Han Feizi.
  3. The analysis suggests that the chapter 'Addressing Zheng Wang' in the 'Strategies of the Warring States' could have significant connections to the writings of Han Feizi, providing historical context and insights.

“Thank you for your surveillance”

39 implied HN points • 09 Jun 19
  1. Nationalist protests in China may have different goals and meanings than economic protests, often focused on expressing emotions, intimidating foreign powers, and strengthening the government's negotiating position.
  2. In economic protests in China, the majority of participants seem to expect government intervention or policy changes as a response, while in nationalist protests, a placatory response is seen as acceptable by both protesters and government.
  3. Chinese citizens appear to understand and evaluate protests based on a mix of rational and emotional factors, adjusting their responses based on situational ethics and distinct contexts of economic and nationalist demonstrations.