D&D General What Is Magic, Even?

[Jacob Lewis]

(1000 xp if you get the reference. Score!)

 

[FrogReaver]

In my professional experience, yes, even them. I am willing to discuss the typical physicists religious views with you by PM, if you wish, but real-world religion isn't an allowed topic.

Then you shouldn’t have brought it up. You are a mod after all and know the rules better than us all.

So I propose that you be more careful about the points you make if you aren’t going to allow the actual counterpoint to them in open discussion.

 

[FrogReaver]

I might suggest a refinement: the supernatural is that which a D&D commoner does not understand how to do.

Calculus is magic?

 

[cbwjm]

Calculus is magic?

Considering what some people can do with maths, yeah.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Calculus is magic?

Maybe. A "commoner" of today has a basic math education and so can presumably understand in principle that calculus is performed by manipulating the numbers in certain ways, even if they can't do it themselves. Akin to a D&D commoner understanding that a blacksmith makes a horseshoe by heating and striking the metal, even if they can't do it themselves. But some real-life magic tricks (and cons) are just math deployed in ways the audience doesn't expect.

 

[FrogReaver]

Maybe. A "commoner" of today has a basic math education and so can presumably understand in principle that calculus is performed by manipulating the numbers in certain ways, even if they can't do it themselves. Akin to a D&D commoner understanding that a blacksmith makes a horseshoe by heating and striking the metal, even if they can't do it themselves. But some real-life magic tricks (and cons) are just math deployed in ways the audience doesn't expect.

I feel like your conflating magic in the stagesman magician sense and the magic of fantasy.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I feel like your conflating magic in the stagesman magician sense and the magic of fantasy.

I'm not sure there's a clear-cut difference.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Then you shouldn’t have brought it up. You are a mod after all and know the rules better than us all.

So I propose that you be more careful about the points you make if you aren’t going to allow the actual counterpoint to them in open discussion.

You brought god into that exchange, not Umbran.

Plenty of folks believe in both modern science and the divine. That much is on topic, and as far as I can tell, within the rules. Going into an actual theological discussion about real world beliefs in specific is neither.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Calculus is magic?

It was invented by an Alchemist.

 

[FrogReaver]

You brought god into that exchange, not Umbran.

Plenty of folks believe in both modern science and the divine. That much is on topic, and as far as I can tell, within the rules. Going into an actual theological discussion about real world beliefs in specific is neither.

when he says that everyone of a particular class believes something then the natural rebuttal to such a statement is to find a counter example. In this case its obvious that the counter example is a particular subset of the original class, which by name is physists that believe in god.

umbran is smart and knows the rules. The objection is that he shouldn’t have made a statement about a class of people and their religious beliefs because that means the Rebuttal would also need to involve a subset of that class. In other words, whether against the rules or not, It’s not fair or right that he can bring religious beliefs into the discussion and then use his mod position to tell me not to use a rebuttal that involves A particular god centered religious belief Held by a subset of the class of people he was talking about.