I loved your reflections on the interplay between magic, science, and Nature. You’ve beautifully captured the complexity of these concepts, making them feel accessible.
In fiction, I've always considered science and magic to be pretty much the same thing just with a different labels on them. Laser gun, blasting rod. Levitation, jet pack. Teleportation, warp drives. It's all the same things, the only difference is setting and tone.
In any case, this line is being blurred further in modern fantasy; specifically since the release of the Sanderson essays outlining hard and soft magic systems. Hard magic is just in-world science, the ins and outs of the magical physics defined like our own laws of physics. The terminology is telling too: magic system. A system implies a framework, meaning you could run diagnostics, test hypotheses, or alter the code entirely if you had enough chutzpah to do so. Very scientific.
Loved this piece. Something I’ll add—and not that I believe magic (magic in the doing) will one day be achievable in the sense we can cast spells, levitate items across the room, teleport, etc., but that some things our society can perform today would have been considered “magic” at one point in history.
Ancient civilizations would’ve thought super glue or Flexseal—the immediate bonding of objects together—was “magic”.
Some modern medicines would’ve once been seen as magic. An EpiPen, inhaler; really any quick-working medical device would absolutely once be considered magic.
Airplanes would’ve been seen as magic for most of the history of the world.
The list goes on and on and on. I guess what I’m implying is that, while all the above is considered science/technology, they used to be in the realm of “magic”. So if that’s the case, is the main difference between magic and science…time?
Thinking out loud here. Thanks for your article. I may write an article myself and cross post yours! You’ve got my wheels turning.
That's very interesting as well. Being a very pragmatic person as I am, I would agree with your line of thinking. If I've understood correctly, I would define "magic" as the sentiment one gets when there is a real world manifestation of something that once belonged only to the realm of imagination.
Well -- let's consider the Romans. Who had three things we might call magic.
Goetia -- trafficking with daemons and ghosts. They prosecuted this as impiety.
Theurgia -- trafficking with the gods. Even those who claimed to be theurgists said that most aspiring theurgists were deceived by daemons, and they prosecuted this as impiety
Magia -- using the occult properties of things. Like, oh, the pain relieving powers of willow bark. Take your bottle of aspirin and stare at it as long as you like, the power of relieving pain will remain hidden, that is, occult. What happened here is that it got put through the wringer and sorted out into "things that work" and "things that don't."
Fantasy fiction goes for either "the wringer sorted the things differently" or "some special people have the innate power to do things by an act of will that others don't."
Thanks! I'll take a look at it. Lewis goes on these terms on the first chapters of "Miracles", but a (I presume) more thoroughly explanation would be very helpful.
I loved your reflections on the interplay between magic, science, and Nature. You’ve beautifully captured the complexity of these concepts, making them feel accessible.
Excellent read!
In fiction, I've always considered science and magic to be pretty much the same thing just with a different labels on them. Laser gun, blasting rod. Levitation, jet pack. Teleportation, warp drives. It's all the same things, the only difference is setting and tone.
In any case, this line is being blurred further in modern fantasy; specifically since the release of the Sanderson essays outlining hard and soft magic systems. Hard magic is just in-world science, the ins and outs of the magical physics defined like our own laws of physics. The terminology is telling too: magic system. A system implies a framework, meaning you could run diagnostics, test hypotheses, or alter the code entirely if you had enough chutzpah to do so. Very scientific.
AI could take the place of the truthsayer in Big Klaus and Little Klaus.
Loved this piece. Something I’ll add—and not that I believe magic (magic in the doing) will one day be achievable in the sense we can cast spells, levitate items across the room, teleport, etc., but that some things our society can perform today would have been considered “magic” at one point in history.
Ancient civilizations would’ve thought super glue or Flexseal—the immediate bonding of objects together—was “magic”.
Some modern medicines would’ve once been seen as magic. An EpiPen, inhaler; really any quick-working medical device would absolutely once be considered magic.
Airplanes would’ve been seen as magic for most of the history of the world.
The list goes on and on and on. I guess what I’m implying is that, while all the above is considered science/technology, they used to be in the realm of “magic”. So if that’s the case, is the main difference between magic and science…time?
Thinking out loud here. Thanks for your article. I may write an article myself and cross post yours! You’ve got my wheels turning.
That's very interesting as well. Being a very pragmatic person as I am, I would agree with your line of thinking. If I've understood correctly, I would define "magic" as the sentiment one gets when there is a real world manifestation of something that once belonged only to the realm of imagination.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke
That’s a great way, and more concise, to put it. I agree with you.
Well -- let's consider the Romans. Who had three things we might call magic.
Goetia -- trafficking with daemons and ghosts. They prosecuted this as impiety.
Theurgia -- trafficking with the gods. Even those who claimed to be theurgists said that most aspiring theurgists were deceived by daemons, and they prosecuted this as impiety
Magia -- using the occult properties of things. Like, oh, the pain relieving powers of willow bark. Take your bottle of aspirin and stare at it as long as you like, the power of relieving pain will remain hidden, that is, occult. What happened here is that it got put through the wringer and sorted out into "things that work" and "things that don't."
Fantasy fiction goes for either "the wringer sorted the things differently" or "some special people have the innate power to do things by an act of will that others don't."
I recommend C.S. Lewis's *Studies In Words*. The chapter on "Nature" covers all the trickiness of the terms "natural" and "supernatural."
Thanks! I'll take a look at it. Lewis goes on these terms on the first chapters of "Miracles", but a (I presume) more thoroughly explanation would be very helpful.