Post by Wizard on Dec 18, 2019 21:13:39 GMT -5
(EDIT: "psionics" should be read as identical to "Psychic Powers")
Who doesn't want to be a wizard? That's the sort of question you'd expect from me, I guess, having chosen "Wizard" as a name.
But yeah, seriously, I want, and wanted, to be a wizard.
I knew that wizards were wise---but they could also use magic. I could work on the first, but I had no idea how to make progress on the second.
I really thought about this! Eventually I came to a definition of magic: Something that works in a way you don't understand.
This was pretty good. But then I started thinking about psionics.
I mean, it's not like if I noticed I could move stuff around with my mind, that I'd understand that, either. And in fact I can move stuff around with my mind (my arms and legs, for instance), and it doesn't seem particularly magical to me (a little psionic, though).
So what's the difference between magic and psionics?
Here's what I came up with:
Whenever we want to achieve something, one way to model that is that we have certain inputs that we provide, in order to get the outputs we want. BUT. Sometimes it's not obvious how to get the outputs we want from the inputs we have, and we have to do a lot of experimenting, thinking, and planning. With some tasks, this thinking/planning part is most of the work!
An example might be writing a paper. If you just look at the physical actions involved, writing a paper is very easy---it's just typing! What could be easier? But in fact most of the work that goes into writing a paper comes not from the typing, but in figuring out what to type.
Sometimes there are multiple steps between the inputs and outputs. To make a lasagna: start with money, go to the store, buy pasta, ricotta, tomato sauce, ground beef, spread a layer of sauce, then...
Magic generally doesn't have this problem. There are no degrees of conceptual separation between the input (arcane words, gestures, ingredients, etc) and the output (a rabbit out of a hat, a fireball, the ability to fly).
Psionics, on the other hand, does. Psionics takes a single input---the mind---and makes a single giant leap to some fundamental property of the world recognized by modern physics---usually force. From there, though, the psionicist is on their own. Want to make a sculpture? With magic, you can simply ask the rock to put itself into the right shape. With psionics, you have to do all the same thinking and trial-and-error that you'd have to do if you were using your hands.
There are varations, of course. One of the most aesthetic types comes from combinations of magic, often as "weaving." In this system, there is a big, unexplained jump starting from will and ending at some concept that's not fundamental in *physics*, but often fundamental in the human psyche. Saidir and saidin work this way in the Wheel of Time series, with its Five Powers of earth, water, air, fire, and spirit.
Another interesting example is Allomancy from the Mistborn series. Allomancers can ingest trace amounts of metals and use associated powers, but they are "basic" powers, with each metal corresponding rigidly to one thing (pushing and pulling are two different powers, for instance), and the laws of physics otherwise firmly in place (and leveraged---Allomancers "fly" by pushing metal below them and relying on conservation of momentum). Allomancy feels more like psionics.
So, a short rule of thumb: If it comes pre-assembled, or it's not clearly related to something you'd learn in physics class, it's magic. If you have to assemble it yourself, or it is trying to be "Physics, plus a bit extra," it's more like psionics.
Who doesn't want to be a wizard? That's the sort of question you'd expect from me, I guess, having chosen "Wizard" as a name.
But yeah, seriously, I want, and wanted, to be a wizard.
I knew that wizards were wise---but they could also use magic. I could work on the first, but I had no idea how to make progress on the second.
I really thought about this! Eventually I came to a definition of magic: Something that works in a way you don't understand.
This was pretty good. But then I started thinking about psionics.
I mean, it's not like if I noticed I could move stuff around with my mind, that I'd understand that, either. And in fact I can move stuff around with my mind (my arms and legs, for instance), and it doesn't seem particularly magical to me (a little psionic, though).
So what's the difference between magic and psionics?
Here's what I came up with:
Whenever we want to achieve something, one way to model that is that we have certain inputs that we provide, in order to get the outputs we want. BUT. Sometimes it's not obvious how to get the outputs we want from the inputs we have, and we have to do a lot of experimenting, thinking, and planning. With some tasks, this thinking/planning part is most of the work!
An example might be writing a paper. If you just look at the physical actions involved, writing a paper is very easy---it's just typing! What could be easier? But in fact most of the work that goes into writing a paper comes not from the typing, but in figuring out what to type.
Sometimes there are multiple steps between the inputs and outputs. To make a lasagna: start with money, go to the store, buy pasta, ricotta, tomato sauce, ground beef, spread a layer of sauce, then...
Magic generally doesn't have this problem. There are no degrees of conceptual separation between the input (arcane words, gestures, ingredients, etc) and the output (a rabbit out of a hat, a fireball, the ability to fly).
Psionics, on the other hand, does. Psionics takes a single input---the mind---and makes a single giant leap to some fundamental property of the world recognized by modern physics---usually force. From there, though, the psionicist is on their own. Want to make a sculpture? With magic, you can simply ask the rock to put itself into the right shape. With psionics, you have to do all the same thinking and trial-and-error that you'd have to do if you were using your hands.
There are varations, of course. One of the most aesthetic types comes from combinations of magic, often as "weaving." In this system, there is a big, unexplained jump starting from will and ending at some concept that's not fundamental in *physics*, but often fundamental in the human psyche. Saidir and saidin work this way in the Wheel of Time series, with its Five Powers of earth, water, air, fire, and spirit.
Another interesting example is Allomancy from the Mistborn series. Allomancers can ingest trace amounts of metals and use associated powers, but they are "basic" powers, with each metal corresponding rigidly to one thing (pushing and pulling are two different powers, for instance), and the laws of physics otherwise firmly in place (and leveraged---Allomancers "fly" by pushing metal below them and relying on conservation of momentum). Allomancy feels more like psionics.
So, a short rule of thumb: If it comes pre-assembled, or it's not clearly related to something you'd learn in physics class, it's magic. If you have to assemble it yourself, or it is trying to be "Physics, plus a bit extra," it's more like psionics.