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DFRPG / Re: Magic and Technology
« on: June 18, 2006, 04:59:23 PM »
To throw out a bit of my Theory of Magic here -
Science is the objective study of the forces around us. Magic is the subjective manipulation of the forces around us.
Science is our attempt to describe, quantify, and catalog the forces acting around us. Its completely objective, as the root of science is the repeatable experiment.
Magic is an individual's way of interacting with and altering the forces around him/her. Its completely subjective, as each individual is unique.
Since electromagnetic theory and tech seems to dominate current theory, let me use electricity as a base example.
Electricity is charged particles in motion. Science as studied the generation of these particles and how they move, and we build items based on these observations. Magic, however, doesn't concern itself with the conductivity of various metals, or what materials make the best insulators. The magic user doesn't concern himself/herself with "how" a cloud forms a lightning bolt. The magic user *is* the cloud per se, and produces the charge without needing to understand the process.
My idea on older technology is The Law of Magical Inertia which states the amount of magical force an object can withstand without being altered is directly proportional to the amount of time an object has been exposed to magical forces and remained unchanged. This theory assumes magical energy exists constantly and consistantly at a low low level at all times around us. Its low enough to not affect the natural laws of science as they are. (after all, if the background magic changed natual law, then they'd be different than they are) The longer an object exists inside that background magic, the more of a resistance to magical energy it builds up. The effect magic has is to alter the inherent natural working of an object, and the long that item/object has worked that way, the more magic is needed to make that alteration. Also, an interesting side note to this in terms of tech is the alteration itself. Objects which are more basic tend to be able to withstand alteration and still function within reasonably normal parameters.
Science is the objective study of the forces around us. Magic is the subjective manipulation of the forces around us.
Science is our attempt to describe, quantify, and catalog the forces acting around us. Its completely objective, as the root of science is the repeatable experiment.
Magic is an individual's way of interacting with and altering the forces around him/her. Its completely subjective, as each individual is unique.
Since electromagnetic theory and tech seems to dominate current theory, let me use electricity as a base example.
Electricity is charged particles in motion. Science as studied the generation of these particles and how they move, and we build items based on these observations. Magic, however, doesn't concern itself with the conductivity of various metals, or what materials make the best insulators. The magic user doesn't concern himself/herself with "how" a cloud forms a lightning bolt. The magic user *is* the cloud per se, and produces the charge without needing to understand the process.
My idea on older technology is The Law of Magical Inertia which states the amount of magical force an object can withstand without being altered is directly proportional to the amount of time an object has been exposed to magical forces and remained unchanged. This theory assumes magical energy exists constantly and consistantly at a low low level at all times around us. Its low enough to not affect the natural laws of science as they are. (after all, if the background magic changed natual law, then they'd be different than they are) The longer an object exists inside that background magic, the more of a resistance to magical energy it builds up. The effect magic has is to alter the inherent natural working of an object, and the long that item/object has worked that way, the more magic is needed to make that alteration. Also, an interesting side note to this in terms of tech is the alteration itself. Objects which are more basic tend to be able to withstand alteration and still function within reasonably normal parameters.