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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Whiskers" data-source="post: 924722" data-attributes="member: 6941">The short answer is of course both can exist. The long answer depends on various factors:1) Is magic innate or learned? Can only a fraction of the population learn to use magic spells, or create magic items? If so, no matter how advanced the magic, there will be an upper limit on the amount of magic used in everyday life. The wealthiest will have it, the rest will use "normal" technology. In effect, technology is universal - anyone with the knowledge and resources can produce mundane items. If magic is the opposite, it will be rare no matter how useful or superior.2) What are the relative costs of magic vs technology? Where magic is cheaper, faster, better, easier, it will be the preferred choice. Where it isn't, technology will be the preferred choice. I can easily visualize a world where long distance travel is via teleportation (instead of airplanes), but short distances are traveled via mundane means. A related example is Star Trek: transporters are used quite often, but crewmen still walk to the bridge or wherever when their shift starts. They still take shuttles.</blockquote>