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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

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M

More_Badass

Member
Was re-watching Thor on FX earlier and that line came up. Arthur C Clarke's Third Law

Would you agree? Have we reached a point where there are examples of modern-day technology/science that could be considered magicial to the uninformed?
 
F

Feep

Banned
BB-8 rolling out on stage, though consisting of several well-understood mechanisms, might seem that way to the layperson.

And though we're all a little jaded now, a modern iPad is like goddamn sorcery.
 
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
We can simply explain our sorcery and understand the mechanisms behind it. I can only imagine what the future will bring.

Although, "magic" does imply something unknowable and mysterious.
 
A

AlphaTwo00

Member
For most people, home wireless tech such as nest, drom, and any other similar automation can veer towards that already. The idea that my phone, within a pocket, can trigger appliances to turn on and prep stuff around the house is going to be confusing to the uninformed.
 
HUELEN10

HUELEN10

Member
Feep said:
BB-8 rolling out on stage, though consisting of several well-understood mechanisms, might seem that way to the layperson.

And though we're all a little jaded now, a modern iPad is like goddamn sorcery.
Click to expand...
i know for a fact that I feel my Mini is a magic device every time I use it, as Steve dreamed with the line with the first one.

Even a first-gen mini absolutely shits on your mid 90s PC.
 
K

kyser73

Member
More_Badass said:
Was re-watching Thor on FX earlier and that line came up. Arthur C Clarke's Third Law

Would you agree? Have we reached a point where there are examples of modern-day technology/science that could be considered magicial to the uninformed?
Click to expand...

Mid C19th technology like cameras are still considered magical in some cultures.

I would imagine a large swathe of science-hating sky-pixie worshipers consider computers to be 'magical' too.
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
The terminology is pretty much a distinction between what is known and clouded with doubt, and historically humans have looked at it that way too. So yes.

Thought it was a good way the MCU handled introducing magic for that same reason.
 
T

TacticalFox88

Banned
Computer Science/engineering is pretty much magic.

The field is so fucking vast that no one person can have intimate knowledge of all the things required to make a modern computer function properly from scratch.
 
A

Astral/H3X

Member
Have you guys ever looked into how processors work?

Like seriously.

Electricity turns off, it turns on, it does that a couple billion times in a second, and boom, you see this message.

The very fact that you are seeing this message is mind boggling, once you start really thinking about how the hell it works.

Also, networks are voodoo magic.
 
R

Replicant

Member
“Your ancestors called it magic, but you call it science. I come from a land where they are one and the same.”

- God of Thunder, THOR
 
Z

Zebra

Member
When I look at a microSD card and realize that it has hundreds of pictures, songs and videos on it, it's basically magic to me.
 
Z

ZackieChan

Member
Drazgul said:
Only for the ignorant. For the absolutely ignorant, everything is magic.
Click to expand...

Then the technology isn't "sufficiently advanced" for you, right? If it were, it would appear to be magic, right?

I suppose that "ignorance," not in the pejorative, is a requirement for this, yes.
 
C

cameron

Member
Image reverse search (google, tineye).

Someone explained to me in detail how the algorithm works. It made perfect sense, but I still think it's magic.
 
L

Lil'DigiOp

Member
BreezyLimbo said:
If you went back to the 80's and showed someone an Iphone, that would be magical.
Click to expand...

Actually if you didn't preload it with content, that Iphone would not work at all.

Fancy paperweight. Plus you'd have to bring a charger too.

H3XAntiStyle said:
Have you guys ever looked into how processors work?

Like seriously.

Electricity turns off, it turns on, it does that a couple billion times in a second, and boom, you see this message.

The very fact that you are seeing this message is mind boggling, once you start really thinking about how the hell it works.

Also, networks are voodoo magic.
Click to expand...

Honestly this, It still intrigues and scares the fuck out of me how man built computers.... How the hell could such a thing even exist... Don't even get me started on modern technology
 
V

VanWinkle

Member
Many things are feats of technology, but what makes magic magic is the separation from science and the explainable. Once it can be explained, it is no longer magic.

You could say these things are "magical," though.
 
D

Drazgul

Member
ZackieChan said:
Then the technology isn't "sufficiently advanced" for you, right? If it were, it would appear to be magic, right?

I suppose that "ignorance," not in the pejorative, is a requirement for this, yes.
Click to expand...

Exactly, there are many current technologies that I'm completely ignorant of, I didn't mean it in the pejorative in the slightest. And at least we're in the uniquely favorable position (compared to just about the whole history of mankind) that we can easily learn about these things, should we choose to.
 
S

SkyOdin

Member
I think the idea that if you were to bring technology back a few hundred years, you could fool people into thinking you were a magician is a little overblown. People from a thousand years ago are just as smart as people are today, and I think they would be able to recognize tools and technology for what they really are. They might come away with mistaken impressions or not fully understand the limitations, but they would be able to recognize that modern technology is just that: advanced technology.

Now, if you are talking about modern technology doing stuff that is magical in different terms, you are going to need to be more specific. Magic isn't something that has a clear definition.
 
Z

ZackieChan

Member
Drazgul said:
Exactly, there are many current technologies that I'm completely ignorant of, I didn't mean it in the pejorative in the slightest. And at least we're in the uniquely favorable position (compared to just about the whole history of mankind) that we can easily learn about these things, should we choose to.
Click to expand...

In many ways, that's the real magic that separates us from our forebears. If I wanted to learn how to create a computer on my own, I theoretically could. It would be hard as fuck, but still very possible.

What a time to be alive. Now back to browsing dank memes.

SkyOdin said:
I think the idea that if you were to bring technology back a few hundred years, you could fool people into thinking you were a magician is a little overblown. People from a thousand years ago are just as smart as people are today, and I think they would be able to recognize tools and technology for what they really are. They might come away with mistaken impressions or not fully understand the limitations, but they would be able to recognize that modern technology is just that: advanced technology.

Now, if you are talking about modern technology doing stuff that is magical in different terms, you are going to need to be more specific. Magic isn't something that has a clear definition.
Click to expand...

Someone hasn't seen the King Arthur episode of MacGyver, where he blows their minds with lighting a match and making scissors.
 
T

ThoseDeafMutes

Member
It's not that it's incorrect necessarily, but I hate how often it gets used as a justification for a variety of wide ranging nonsense. Any fiction can use it to try and instantly defuse critical thinking with one line of dialogue. It's the SF equivalent of "god works in mysterious ways".

It finds its way into conspiracy nonsense too. How are the reptiloids controlling the media? Well bob any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. It's so advanced your brain can't comprehend it. That's also how they can FTL travel everywhere.

Related pet peeve: the phrase "anything is possible!" If you are writing SF and a character has uttered the phrase "anything is possible", you have failed this city.
 
Sakura

Sakura

Member
If you don't believe in magic you aren't going to assume something is magical over technological.
People a long time ago did believe in magic, which is why they would be easy to fool with modern tech.
 
C

Cartman86

Banned
I feel it denigrates the hard work that millions of people have contributed to the cause. I know what Clark was saying but the way it seems to be interpreted does a disservice.
 
S

Syriel

Member
More_Badass said:
Was re-watching Thor on FX earlier and that line came up. Arthur C Clarke's Third Law

Would you agree? Have we reached a point where there are examples of modern-day technology/science that could be considered magicial to the uninformed?
Click to expand...

Processors. Touch screens. SD cards. Bah.

Ferrofluid is where it's at.
 
S

SpoonyBard

Banned
I think Clarke meant technology that's several hundred years ahead of you. If a touch screen seems magical to you, that might just be an indication of your lack of education and imagination.
 
T

Toa TAK

Banned
enzo_gt said:
The terminology is pretty much a distinction between what is known and clouded with doubt, and historically humans have looked at it that way too. So yes.

Thought it was a good way the MCU handled introducing magic for that same reason.
Click to expand...
I feel the exact same way. Thought the line was perfectly written in Thor.
 
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