Linking Science to Magic

First I need to clarify what I consider to be magic.

It’s not that I don’t believe in things like spells and potions, but I just have not seen them in person, and don’t understand them enough to have any kind of opinion on them. When I talk about magic I mean psychic abilities. Telepathy, Emotive Telepathy, Empathy.. etc… as well as the believe in spirits, and ghosts.

From briefly broaching this subject on the chat and there seems to be pretty split beliefs on it all.

I have a degree in psychology which is not where I got my ambition to understand science, but it is where I got my passion to understand how the human mind works. Many people under estimate the power of the brain so much; it’s almost sad how wasted and underappreciated it is.

Here’s a short, dumbed down, version of the link between science and magic that I am talking about. We will just use telekinesis as an example. Telekinesis is the ability to move objects using the power of your mind and just the act of thinking about it. The easiest way for this to be explained using science is that on average the human only uses about half of the brains potential.

(A common misconception is that humans only use 10% of their brain. This may be true when a person is just sitting around doing nothing, but in full activity a person uses a much higher percentage.)

Well back to the point, a human’s body naturally produces an electromagnetic field. It is constantly surrounding us, and completely useless on its own, it’s just a natural occurrence. However, imagine if part of that untapped brain potential would allow you to manipulate the EMF that your body naturally gives off to do something like, say, move an object. Granted your body would in theory lose a lot of energy using this much of your brain power. During a normal day your brain uses 20 percent of your energy.

That is a very shortened explanation of the link to science and telekinesis, but think of this same theory for something like telepathy. Could you actually use the EMF that your body gives off to actually manipulate things like another person’s brain? If so that would certainly be the start of understanding something like psychic abilities, being able to read a person’s thoughts, or emotive telepathy, being able to influence the way others feel.

If you guys respond well to this forum I will definitely post more, in depth entries, but I just want to give some food for thought and hopefully open up a few people’s minds on the way they view magic. Sometimes you want to be able to have an explanation for things you cannot fully understand. Feel free to send me a personal email with any questions, comments, or reactions.

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Telekinesis? For somebody with a degree in psychology you seem to know little about the mechanics of science. It is impossible to move a solid object by using only the Mind. Magic can never go against the natural order. As for science, most of what is known today of the mechanics of science was first discovered by magic (Alchemy). Magic is knowledge of how nature works, how the Earth works, and how the universe works.

I think you could study magick a bit more before you begin to challenge it with science. In the first place, you don't seem to understand what magick actually is. In the second place, you seem to think you are the first person to look at magick from a scientific viewpoint. I assure you that you are not. Scientists are prevalent in the craft. Finally, after you have studied further, you will see that magick and science are not in opposition anyway.

I'm not sure I'd call science the ugly cousin. When taken to an extreme, science might encourage one to spurn belief in much of anything. However, if one takes the concept of magic to an extreme, one believes in nearly anything. Both ends of the spectrum grow ugly when taken too far.

In studying magic, you open yourself to truths of the spirit that science has not yet touched. In studying science, you learn to explore things with an analytically logic, that is crucial to true understanding.

Both science and magic seek to unravel the mysteries of the world, but they approach from the opposite ends of the spectrum. As usual, truth resides in the middle.

I would point out otherwise that the example of using only 20% of the brain's energy is myth. It is well documented that this is only because various parts of the brain simply do not need to run at full capacity, so to speak, all of the time. Using the entire brain has very little to do with anything.

I would like to clarify what was written about and state that the brain, throughout the day, has been shown to use 20% of the body's energy. Not 20% of its capacity as might be understood. The remaining energy is generally used in other activities. Heartbeat, blinking, breathing, all of the involuntary activities of the body, and then all of the voluntary activities such as typing, driving a car, etc.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=people-only-use-10-percent-of-brain

Here is an article that explores this popular myth.

I would note however, that energy does not simply fade away. Energy, like matter, cannot be destroyed. It can only change form. Thus, perhaps, such instances as the human, electrical magnetic field, which is likely generated from the constant small electrical neural impulses that happen with every action of the body, intentional or involuntary. The magic the act of translating will, emotion, intention, desire, etc. into a manifestation of this energy changing form? Quite probably.

Well, all the wonderful feedback I got has certainly cured me from ever wanting to write another forum again. I would like to point out that at no point in any of my writing did I ever suggest that I thought I was the first person to try and connect science and magic, so thanks for those comments.

Travis first off I would like to say you made a somewhat decent article, there are some holes, but for the most part you are suggesting an idea which is a good thing since it gets people thinking; I wouldn't have ever thought about EMF.

Secondly, you sounded offended by the comments on this forum. There is no need to be offended if you were. I would actually encourage you to make more post on here since it can stimulate ideas. But you must remember that this is a magic forum. Like most forums you will get people that point out your mistakes and criticize you. Take in their feedback and use it constructively.

Thirdly, I would suggest doing some research on magic in general to get a bit more of an understanding. Once having done some research try a bit of practicing as well so you can get a grasp on what people experience when they practice. If you do research I would suggest the chat and ask questions. I would advise against looking at the spells page since quite a few are in fact not real. I also believe that there is a forum for getting started that can help you in the right direction.

Fourthly, stick to your guns, don't give up after one post, I can tell you have a mind that can think abstractly in a sense, so use it!

To conclude roll with the punches, research, and explore.