I love science. And scientists. Einstein, Curie, Fermi, Feynman, Sagan, deGrasse Tyson Hawking. Love them. Love reading about them, love listening to them speak, but what I love most is the work they’ve done to advance our knowledge of how the Universe works.
And what I love most about *that* is trying to figure out how to incorporate those ideas into magic. How to tweak the laws of thermodynamics or electromagnetism in a way that makes my magic-users more “real”. How to link E=MC² to magical constructs. Mass/energy conversions for shape-shifters. Biological processes for vampirism. Invisibility. Flight. Trans-dimensional travel.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C. Clarke
I love Arthur’s third law because it fits so smoothly into Larry Niven’s converse law – Any sufficiently rigorously defined magic is indistinguishable from technology. And that’s what I strive for in my writing. To have my magic be as realistic and scientifically sound as possible without sacrificing the story.
Ana
So cool. Interesting concept.
So true, Ana! Some of the best books I’ve ever read follow this concept.
Ana, I love it! I’m working on an idea that includes magical tech, so I’ve been reading books on voodoo, alchemy and quantum physics. Fun times.
Lisa
It is hard not to believe in magic let alone not accept it, when so much of it goes on around us everyday–things science can’t explain. Besides, it’s fun!
Wally