Post #2489776
2026-05-13 18:40 UTC
Replies (2)
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@zarlin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-13 18:49
Many people equate the word “daemon” with the word “demon”, implying some kind of satanic connection between UNIX and the underworld. This is an egregious misunderstanding. “Daemon” is actually a much older form of “demon”; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a person’s character or personality. The ancient Greeks’ concept of a “personal daemon” was similar to the modern concept of a “guardian angel”—eudaemonia is the state of being helped or protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, UNIX systems seem to be infested with both daemons and demons. From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computing)
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@grendel84@tiny.tilde.website 2026-05-14 00:36
[@Sibbo](https://sopuli.xyz/u/Sibbo) I'm not 100% sure but I think that daemons were a specific type of entity that was to be a helper or servant to a magician/wizard or whatever. [@MattW03](https://lemmy.ca/u/MattW03)