Magical Genes: Unification Theory

[lamppost42 at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 24216


Let me see if I can summarize the arguments so far.

1. Magical ability is an inherited trait. A person is either magical or 
nonmagical.
2. Among magical people, there is great variation of magical skills and 
degree of power.

 Most of the discussion I've read so far tends to lump magical skill/
degree of power and the state of being magical into one category. 
Several people have promoted a "multiple gene" theory. This is much 
closer to how gene expression really works than a simple dominant/
recessive model. 

I would like to submit my pet magical theory to the forces of logic 
that preside on this list <winces, squares shoulders, begins>.

SOMEWHAT-GRAND UNIFICATION THEORY

I agree that magical skill/power is as elusive as athletic prowess. A 
person may have certain inherited traits, such as the ability to build 
high-density muscle, which is a boon to athletes, but if the person 
lacks the ambition or perseverence to develop said skill, they're not 
going to be a great athlete. This idea is not new. I've seen variants 
of it posted by several people in this topic alone.

To sort of go back on myself, of the earliest and simplest (shades of 
Occam?) theories I've read simply says that there is a gene to 
determine whether a person is a muggle or a wizard. But I wondered 
"What is it PHYSICALLY that makes a person muggle or wizard." 
Determining the phenotype, not the genotype. My answer came like a bolt 
out of the blue (pardon the pun). Electricity. Our bodies move, 
metabolize, and react through a series of electrical impulses. We've 
learned to harness it to do everything from electrocution to 
electrophoresis. We've based our society and technology on it. We know 
from the cannon that in large doses, magic interferes with electricity. 
Perhaps magic is an alternative source of energy, fundamentally 
different from electricity. It pervades wizarding bodies, homes, and 
society in the same way electricity does ours. I suspect that a general 
misunderstanding of electricity may be a stumbling block for muggle/
wizard relations, especially since the muggle industrial revolution. It 
could also explain Arthur Weasley's naivete' about muggle artifacts...

My sincerest apologies and most debasing grovelling if this is a repeat 
of someone else. Anybody want a peanut?  

Joy to the World!

Mun42