A pseudo-scientific explanation of magic

[The_lurkeR]

Cool thread

I love this area of science, it's funny though how much it actually can start to read like magic or religion once it get's this far into the philosophical depths.

Anyway I don't have too much to add, other than I like the ideas of tying String Theory and Ley lines, Feng Shui etc... together. Since you're using CoC instead of straight D&D magic you don't have to worry too much about figuring out the explanations of entire spell lists, but rather just the rituals and objects you introduce to the campaign.

One neat visual I saw in a PBS show I think that tried explaining String Theory and membranes, was to imagine our universe or membrane as a sheet, and that the point of impact where our rippling sheet touched another membrane released the energy of the Big Bang.

l l membrane sheets
)( they touch and... bang! a ripple of unimaginable energy goes out through our 3 dimensional sheet.

 

[Yair]

Our mind, singular? That presents a problem of more than just grammar. I don't think anyone wants to try to sell the idea that for all the sentients int eh world, there's only one mind that needs to be affected.

Then, you've got either magic that doesn't really have objective reality, because there are people you see now for whom that magic simply won't happen while it does happen for you, or you have to affect all the myriad minds in the universe at once, which just sounds implausible.

Hmmm... yes and no. In this model when I see the arrow (electron, whatever) going left, all other minds will concur (within their own perspectives). This could be due the miracolous harmony (a la Leibniz), due to there being only one universal mind and our mind being a part of it (a sort of pantheism, and indeed the original intent), or any other explanation.
And QM says percisely that your measurment affects all the universe (not just minds) at once. Weird, but that's how the universe works. (Well, it says so in certain INTERPERTATIONS of it, but these are actually the least crazy ones.)
It makes wizard duels fun. You focus on changing a single event - say the deterioration of a radioactive atom. The wizard that wins has greater control of reality, his desired effect becomes reality while the other's remains an unfulfilled wish, proving him the greater wizard.

 

[Wayside]

It makes wizard duels fun. You focus on changing a single event - say the deterioration of a radioactive atom. The wizard that wins has greater control of reality, his desired effect becomes reality while the other's remains an unfulfilled wish, proving him the greater wizard.

It doesn't even have to be limited to wizard duels. This is actually one way warriors can work in my setting; it's extremely comical to have some master stand perfectly still, doing nothing, while another guy swings at him ineffectually, over and over, without being able to land anything whatsoever, simply because the master wills himself not to be hit.

 

[Maldin]

Of course it's just as easy to make gold! Those fools just don't understand the forces they're dealing with! They laughed at my theories, but I'll show them. I'll show them all!
Behold! The Grand Unification Theory of Magic! My power will be unlimited!

For those interested in a Grand Unified Theory of ... well... everything, visit my "Life, the Multiverse and Everything" page on my website. With my own GUT ;-) I tie together the structure of the planes, magic, life, intelligence (independent of life in a D&D 'verse, with intelligent swords and elementals), extradimensional spaces, gods, energy, differential flow of time, etc.... etc... I'd post my views here, but its just too friggin' long!

If you don't wish to burrow through from my main page (addy below), you can jump directly there from my Sitemap page at http://melkot.com/sitehistory.html

Denis, aka "Maldin"
=============================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Check out the ton of cool Edition-independent stuff on my website: New Spells, Magic Items, Notoriety, Artifacts, Kyuss, secrets of the Twin Cataclysms, the Codex of the Infinite Planes, the Dreadwood, the cities of Melkot, Greyhawk and Irongate, and much, much more!!

 

[Umbran]

This could be due the miracolous harmony (a la Leibniz), due to there being only one universal mind and our mind being a part of it (a sort of pantheism, and indeed the original intent), or any other explanation.

As noted - the idea that all minds are one mind is going to be a really hard sell, in terms of free will and the like.

And QM says percisely that your measurment affects all the universe (not just minds) at once.

No, QM says that your measurements affects the thing you measure. Unless the observer can measure the whole Universe at once, there's limits to the reach.

More importantly, the observation has an effect, but that effect is not predictable. Observation resolves questions, but does not allow the observer to choose what the answer is. In fact, the Uncertainty Principle limits what can be observed, rather than enables the observer to do what they please.

 

[woodelf]

You might want to consider tying "Superstring" theory and "cosmic resonance" ideas in with real world occult ideas of Feng Shue and Ley Lines. Imagine that the verbal components of spells are trying to find effective harmonies with the frequency at which superstrings vibrate, the somatic components are essentially pulling at the "web" of superstrings that cris-cross reality. It doesn't leave a lot of room for material components of "spellcasting," but the ability to percieve and manipulate the "strings" posited by "String Theory" would essentially grant the person the ability to manipulate the very fabric of reality...and it even works well with the D&D idea of the planes. Sounds like magic to me...

Material components: that's easy. Catalysts. Some objects/materials somehow resonate with another layer of reality, and thus serve as catalysts for drawing in that sort of reality.

 

[barsoomcore]

Barsoom trades very heavily on the idea that magic is really really really complicated math. Basically, by performing very precise, very complex operations in your head, you create a sort of pattern of neurological impulses that resonates with the Shadow Realm.

The reason that happens is more metaphysical than cosmological.

I think that in order for magic to be MAGIC, it has to relate to spiritual or metaphysical concerns more than just physical. So on Barsoom, the human soul is composed partly of the stuff of Shadow. Shadow is the world where nothing changes, where all possibilities are negated. The human soul is a kind of very very very small, very nearly completed closed-off gateway to Shadow. By performing sorcerous calculations, you are able to open that gateway a wee tiny bit more, and thereby cause the power of Shadow to negate all possibilities except the one you desire (no matter how improbable it may be). Of course it's very dangerous, because if your concentration slips or your calculations are off you will negate YOURSELF (and possibly others), which is bad, generally.

So sorcerers on Barsoom are mathematical geniuses, often very psychopathic in their behaviour -- markedly unsympathetic towards others, megalomaniacal in the extreme, given to extreme mood swings and often so engrossed with their investigations and experiments that they give no thought to the impact of their actions on the world at large.

That is, GREAT bad guys.

 

[barsoomcore]

Basically, whatever scientific rationale one chooses, I think you ought to consider not just the science behind it, but the spirituality it represents and the story possibilities it offers.

My three cents.

 

[Desdichado]

I remembered that about Barsoom, and my initial thought was that I didn't want to tread on your idea, but as I started fleshing out this pseudo-scientific explanation, it amazed me that the idea of highly complex mathematics being the basis of magic was unavoidable.

Almost despite myself, my setting continues to gradually converge with your Barsoom. Perhaps --one day, in a few more years-- I'll actually be running Barsoom completely.

 

[LostSoul]

Outsiders are just entities from another brane. These Outsiders don't need to be limited to traditional depictions of alien horrors, either. Less tenticular, more conceptual. Sentient, polyhedral clouds that can reduce the speed of light to 45 MPH. Or demonic number systems that threaten a kingdom's currency. Perhaps exposing terrestrial creatures to energies from outside their home brane can slowly turn them into Outsiders.

Nothing much to add, except to say that this is really cool.