Camouflage, drugs, alternate medicine. You got me on the "granting wishes" though.
Cool.
Yes, one could say that an invisibility power mimicked stealth and/or camoflauge, up to and including Predator-style armour. However, were this the case, there are rational limitations caused by the explanation that limit how the power can be used.
Likewise if a power was granted through the use of drugs or alternate medicine. Or if one could apparently grant wishes in a holodeck. Alternative explanations to "magic" all have limitations caused by the explanation used.
We could do this all day, but the fact of the matter is, the RAW deliniates no such limitations, even going so far as to indicate that an opponent can be controlled to move into lava or off a cliff.
Of course, if we change the language, and decide that "magic" means something other than its definition, we can come up with all kinds of crazy conclusions. You are, of course, free to knock yourself out coming up with whatever conclusions you like, but this is (again) more wishful thinking than accepting 4e at face value.
"All abilities are magic, and magic is available to all" isn't some kind of condemnation of the game system. It is a setup which might very well appeal to quite a large group of gamers. (It is, in some ways, superior to having to mark what type of ability every. single. ability. is, as in 3e.) It is also what makes Mallus' setting (as I understand it, at least) a perfect match for the 4e implied setting.
Knowing that this is part of the implied setting helps prospective players and DMs determine whether or not 4e is for them. It can help them shape a setting that makes use of the strengths of 4e. It can help avoid some of the disconnects that might otherwise occur. It can help point out areas where some groups might wish to houserule in order to avoid those disconnects.
Of course, YMMV.
RC
