Science of Magic (was Re: The Statute of Secrecy_

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 159218

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ken Hutchinson" <klhutch at ...>
wrote:
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67@>
wrote:
> >
> > Ken:
> > > 
> > > I think it far more likely that St. Mungo's would 
> > > be deluged with Muggles seeking treatement for 
> > > diseases we cannot cure. I think it far more likely
> > > that Hogwarts would be deluged with physicists 
> > > wanting to study the relationship between magic and
> > > the rest of physics. I think it far more likely 
> > > that energy companies would vie for the rights to 
> > > the limitless, non-polluting energy source the WW 
> > > taps into. The WW seems to have the solutions for 
> > > many of our problems, isn't it extremely selfish of
> > > them to keep these wonderful technologies from a 
> > > world that needs them> so desperately? <snip>
> > 
> > Carol responds:
> > I'm not so sure. Wizards can mend broken bones and 
> > broken noses with a spell (wonder why Dumbledore's 
> > and Ludo Bagman's weren't mended?), but Mad-Eye Moody
> > can't regrow his missing parts and the school still
> > seems to suffer an annual outbreak of flu. ... They
> > don't have computers or telephones or even cars.) 
> > Yes, some of them can Apparate, but they can't teach
> > that skill to Muggles even if they wanted to.
> > 
> > Carol, ...
> >
> 
> Ken:
> 
> Ah, but the WW is being victimized by their author's 
> lack of science education. The amount of enery a 
> Quidditch team expends in a match is quite astounding
> really. It is totally free and causes no apparent 
> pollution. I know that the Red Hen is on record as 
> saying that this energy comes from Harry's breakfast 
> but he simply does not eat that much. You are looking 
> at the solution to both the world's energy dilemma and 
> global warming here and you don't realize it because 
> the author does not realize what she has created and 
> you are not trained in the right field to recognize it.
> 
> As for medicine, I grant that I may have overstated the
> case ... surely ... the WW and the Muggle world could 
> both benefit by comparing medical notes.
> 
> Physicists would *love* having magic to study. It's 
> existence would totally overturn the apple cart ... As
> I've said before some of the multi-dimensional theories
> of modern physics could, ... explain how a wizard's 
> trunk, car, or house can be  larger inside than outside.
> These theories are the current best guess as the
> basis for a Theory of Everything, .... This would be 
> very big news in the world of physics.
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> Ken
>

bboyminn:

I've always said that magic is just science we haven't 
discovered yet. I also think the central general public
would probably react well, OK moderately well, but it 
is not the general public we have to worry about, it is
those 'off-center'.

Again, look at the furor raised by a quaint book of 
fiction, now again imagine the reaction of those same
people if that 'fiction' turns out to be 'history'. If
Harry Potter turns out to be real. Do you really think
those opposing Harry Potter would jump up and down saying
'Oh goody goody, everything we've fervently believed our
whole lives, the very thing we have build our existance
and self-worth around is now wrong - Whoo-Hoo!'. I don't
think so. 

There is too much lust for power and wealth in the world.
Those who have it definitely do not want to lose it, and
those that want it, lust for it, will try to gain it at
any cost. I do not see /these/ people reacting 'nicely'.
There are far too many Lex Luthors in the world for the
revelation of Magical People to go over 'nicely'.

The Wizards are offering free power. They can create a
branch of fire the burns evermore. How much Alcohol could
you distill if you fueled the still by ever-buring fire?
How much steam could those everburning branches generate?
And really, you don't even need 'ever-burning branches'. 
It seems that Fire Spells are reasonably common. If you
can conjure fire, they you don't evey need ever-burning
branches. So, the power companies are going to take that
lying down? The Oil Companies? The Natural Gas Companies?
I don't think so. 

It's not about science and technology folks, it's about
power and wealth, and those who have it, and want to keep
it, that those that don't have it. As long as Power and
Wealth are involved, and the interests of the powerful and
wealthy need to be protected, there will be trouble right
here in River City.

As to the science and where the energy comes for to power
brooms, for example. I suspect that we are seeing simple
matter/energy conversion. One pound of matter is capable
of producing unfathomable amounts of energy. It is 
possible that magic simply converts random insignificant
matter into energy to power the brooms. It may simply
convert the dust in the air into energy. The enegy
expediture of a broom is insignificant compared to the
energy potential of the dust in normal outside air.

Further, our preceived physical world is really only about
20% of the actually world. No, I don't mean we are only 
aware of 20% of the stars and galaxies that are out there.
I am speaking of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. And, please
let us not, once again, get into a long and generally
pointless debate over whether I fully understand Dark
Energy or not. This is about speculative science in the
fictional world, not about real applied science.

In this case, let us not confuss 'DARK Energy' with
DARK Magic. 'Dark' in this instance simply means unseen,
though recently science has come much much closer to 
detecting Dark Matter. Extending this, 80% of the physical
world is beyond our /normal/ comprehension. Even if we 
cataloged every existing Galaxy, star, planet, and moon,
we would have still only catalogged 20% of the physical
matter in existance, partly because the other 80% is
normally unseen.

So, who is to say that magic doesn't draw its energy from
the huge massive amount to Dark Energy that permeates the
universe? They are tapping a source of energy that is all
around us, yet is something that we are only vaguely
aware of in the scientific sense.

So, while I can speculate perfectly logical reasons why
magic could exist and why its knowledge would be 
infinitely valuable to modern science, I really fear the
social and psychologial aspects of it. I still claim that
those with financial, political, military, religious, and
moral power and wealth would fight to control or attempt
to destroy magic if it were discovered in our modern 
world. 

Further, those with finacial, political, military, 
religious, and moral power and wealth also have tremendous
influence over the sheep that follow them. If religious
fanatics can rally so much support against a quaint book
of fiction, I shutter at their reaction to it being real.

Chaos I tell you, chaos; social upheaval and riots in the
streets. I know it is a sad thought, a sad commentary on 
human existance, and hopelessly pessimistic, but I think
to deny it is naive.

Just passing it along.

Steve/bboyminn