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<blockquote data-quote="The_Universe" data-source="post: 2337335" data-attributes="member: 8944">Well, if one can manipulate the basic fabric of reality, what's to stop you from mucking around in someone's mind - it is, after all, just another part of that reality. If I can manipulate the space between subatomic particles, and I know how to make those particles start a fire, or a call a bolt of lightning, or help me fly (or whatever), who's to say I can't figure out how to make neurons fire in the specific pattern that makes my enemies see a dragon where there isn't one, or make them fall asleep, or see their worst fear...? &nbsp;As for how to make &quot;limits&quot; of magic work, one must simply remember that just because a thing is possible does not mean we know how to make it happen. At the very least, we needn't assume that we know how to make it happen in the most effective way. So, while I might have figured out how to reshape reality to create lead from nothing (and lots of it) perhaps I only know how to make a little gold. It might be possible to make the same amount of gold that I did lead...but that still doesn't mean that I was aware of how to do so. &nbsp;Man could fly before he understood all the laws of flight - pseudoscientific magic could and should work the same way. While the theoretical underpinnings of manned flight eventually gave us supersonic jets, we had to start with awkward propellared monoplanes....</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The_Universe, post: 2337335, member: 8944"] Well, if one can manipulate the basic fabric of reality, what's to stop you from mucking around in someone's mind - it is, after all, just another part of that reality. If I can manipulate the space between subatomic particles, and I know how to make those particles start a fire, or a call a bolt of lightning, or help me fly (or whatever), who's to say I can't figure out how to make neurons fire in the specific pattern that makes my enemies see a dragon where there isn't one, or make them fall asleep, or see their worst fear...? As for how to make "limits" of magic work, one must simply remember that just because a thing is possible does not mean we know how to make it happen. At the very least, we needn't assume that we know how to make it happen in the most effective way. So, while I might have figured out how to reshape reality to create lead from nothing (and lots of it) perhaps I only know how to make a little gold. It might be possible to make the same amount of gold that I did lead...but that still doesn't mean that I was aware of how to do so. Man could fly before he understood all the laws of flight - pseudoscientific magic could and should work the same way. While the theoretical underpinnings of manned flight eventually gave us supersonic jets, we had to start with awkward propellared monoplanes.... [/QUOTE]

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