Do you believe in magic?

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,151]

Ever since I saw the Harry Potter movies, I wanted to know if I could practice witchcraft, brew potions, and cast spells. I think we all did. 

In high school, I had a friend who was a witch.
I was her only friend, and she trusted me with her secret.
If she didn't move to a different state, she would've teach me some witchcraft and some spells.
On day, she did cast a spell on one of my pencils to make it as flimsy as a rubber band, even the graphite was flimsy, and I could still write with it, but it was rather clumsy and tricky.
She said it was a curse that made solid and sturdy objects become unstable and flaccid. She broke the curse before we had to go to class.
I'm not joking. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by Millennium Shadow

[Arkadios 91]

Just well-constructed illusions and self-fulfilling LaVeyan Satanic ritual effects.

That said, I do have a fascination with card tricks.

And seriously, The Satanic Bible is a pretty interesting read for any disenchanted or disillusioned American Southerners.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Arkadios

[Hardway Bet 96]

Nah, stage magicians aren't real. They're all just added in after the fact with CGI.

[Black Sabbath 2,486]

Nope, I'm 100% sure that magic doesn't exist. If it did, it would have been proven a hundreds times over by now. 

[Jedishy 3,549]

I take LaVey's view of magic and ritual. I use ritual and spell work regularly. Does it actually do something? Or is it just a form of catharsis that lets out my emotions? No idea and do not care. Either way its of benefit. 

[KH7672 1,604]

In a young girl's heart? Of course the music sets her free whenever it starts that it's magic when it's so groovy that everyone's happy like an old time movie.

 

 

 

Apologies but I couldn't resist with that title. As for a serious answer, no but that doesn't stop me from loving magic shows at any age 

[Matraxial Artemi 2,231]

I don't know for sure but it doesn't exist in our own world but other worlds or planets might have magic 

[Here No Longer 5,279]

I don't think so. Sure, there are magicians and the like, but most of the tricks use sleights of hand and stage tricks to put on the illusion of some magic occurring. It is somewhat impressive even knowing the actual act, but that's not really magic. I think magic is an extension of our imagination to try to explain occurrences we can't necessarily explain to contemporaries. Of course in our time there's no such need, but back when scientists would get beheaded for even daring to say something against the obstinacy of the church? Of course there was. After all the church didn't really want to open their eyes to other possibilities, such as, you know, a SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION or something...

 

Edited November 24, 2018 by ~Dusky~

[Midnight Solace 5,132]

Equestria has lots of magic. But here, it's so uncommon that many people wouldn't believe in it. 

And no, I'm not talking about stage magic. 

[Kevin Tang 2,427]

Humans don't have wings or magic, we don't need it, we don't care

All we've got imagination, new inventions everywhere.

(Definitely copied from somewhere)

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

I don't believe in magic because the evidence for it is non-existent.

[Discordian 6,015]

I don't remember where it was from but someone pointed out that if magic  exists it's likely far more mundane than we think it would be. People expect miracles and flashy explosions but the more likely alternative is it's just little oddities that happen for no real reason. For example, how you can hear your name in a crowd easier than most other things. Or how when you're looking for something in particular and only that particular shape or color associated with it stands out while everything else is just background even if it's right in front of your face. Maybe you trip on things less than other people or have never experience a particular emotion or sensation that others are more prone to. Let's not discount the magic of wonder and imagination.

 

Yes, these things could just as easily be explained away as mental trickery and probability but that doesn't mean they aren't the same thing. Magic is often described as something unique or extraordinary that we simply don't have a complete explanation for.

 

So in that sense, I do believe in magic. Until there is nothing left in this universe without an explanation there will always be some form of it.

[SkyPie 261]

If it's real, then there shouldn't be no problem in showing it.

But I'm not 100% sure since my mother has said she's a witch. She also said she has cast spells, like when she cursed my stepfather and then his car broke down, though that could have been a coincidence. Then she cast another spell that I guess backfired and she got possessed by this person who smokes (and my mother doesn't) for a bit. 

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,151]

49 minutes ago, Discordian said:

Magic is often described as something unique or extraordinary that we simply don't have a complete explanation for.

So in that sense, I do believe in magic. Until there is nothing left in this universe without an explanation there will always be some form of it.

I do understand calling something magic if you're unable to explain it.
Now, most would see magic and science as separate and/or polar opposites, but I think magic and science are more related than we realize. In fact, I think they're like both sides of the came coin.
I see science as learning how things work, while magic is more about controlling the way said things work, as well as adding new properties to them.

You could said say that magic is like playing a video while having complete access to the game's data and able to change anything in the game in any way.

[Black Sabbath 2,486]

3 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

I do understand calling something magic if you're unable to explain it.

How? Calling everything you don't understand "magic" doesn't mean that it actually is. 

[ssj4gogita4 101]

I think the magic shows have increased exponentially in the last decade or so, helping others to believe that it may in fact be real.

[Brony Number 42 10,075]

People who claim that it works will say things like it only works if you believe, or it is very subtle, and you can't do anything greedy. In other words, it never works.

It's lame stuff like, one spell will help you get a job. And if you don't get the job then you didn't do the spell right.

It is morally questionable to sell books and things to people, and to claim that it works when it clearly doesn't.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,316]

                                                                                                                                                         

[Kevin Tang 2,427]

All of those things you called magic are science

It's just those stupid people who don't know what they are and simply called them magic

(Again, definitely copied from somewhere)

Edited November 24, 2018 by Kevin Tang

[ggg-2 3,553]

People who don't believe in magic are silly. Magic is real and the most powerful of all is the magic of friendship.

[Crimson storm 1,859]

Magic does exist, if you know where to look.

[Arkadios 91]

Actually, I just realized this: magic is a secular way of invoking the “god of the gaps.” I’ll explain.

In our world, we have a well-defined set of physical laws that describe how objects behave. Objects can’t behave outside these laws (e.g. under the effects of magic) because that would defy the mathematical logic of those laws. In previous times, we might have explained things by saying “magic” or “the gods did it”, but stuff always happens because of one or more laws’ effects on objects. That’s why magic doesn’t exist here.

In Equestria, where there are no canonical definitions of physical laws and only limited math (which we don’t know if we can apply to other sciences [sorry, Slice of Life, you don’t count]), inconsistent things happen all the time, usually because of magic. Object starts levitating? Direct result of horn power of ill-defined origins and limitations (friendship... or something?). Crystal Mirror stays open all the time now? Result of some kind of magic transference from the one magicky thing to the other and it makes a bridge that can be explained with the Pythagorean theorem in three dimensions (which in our world would be six or seven, depending on if the other world is a separate timeline or a separate universe). It can all be conveniently explained away by magic.

Anyway... science rant over.

For now...

Edited November 24, 2018 by Arkadios

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

As a child I believed in fairy tales, magic, and the unknown... now as an adult I only believe what can be proven.

As for your friend, I'm pretty sure she's either messing with you or she's full of it, and you fell for it. I'm sure there is a psychological effect with a name to describe this, but nothing comes to mind.

[TBD 17,259]

First thing comes to my mind...

 

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,151]

2 hours ago, Arkadios said:

Actually, I just realized this: magic is a secular way of invoking the “god of the gaps.” I’ll explain.

In our world, we have a well-defined set of physical laws that describe how objects behave. Objects can’t behave outside these laws (e.g. under the effects of magic) because that would defy the mathematical logic of those laws. In previous times, we might have explained things by saying “magic” or “the gods did it”, but stuff always happens because of one or more laws’ effects on objects. That’s why magic doesn’t exist here.

In Equestria, where there are no canonical definitions of physical laws and only limited math (which we don’t know if we can apply to other sciences [sorry, Slice of Life, you don’t count]), inconsistent things happen all the time, usually because of magic. Object starts levitating? Direct result of horn power of ill-defined origins and limitations (friendship... or something?). Crystal Mirror stays open all the time now? Result of some kind of magic transference from the one magicky thing to the other and it makes a bridge that can be explained with the Pythagorean theorem in three dimensions (which in our world would be six or seven, depending on if the other world is a separate timeline or a separate universe). It can all be conveniently explained away by magic.

Anyway... science rant over.

For now...

The so-called "laws" of physics was something humans made up so we can have a better understanding how the universe works, as well as a sense of control over everything.

In other works, science is a man-made concept used to make everything explainable and able to be manipulated and controlled.

Magic, on the other hoof, is, in my opinion, just another form of science that the majority of us don't know how to use and usually is dismissed since it plays by its own rules and is more flexible than "traditional" science is.
So, we're kinda holding ourselves back by not diving into the other science that is magic.

And I think you can explain magic in the "traditional" scientific manner, but it'll be a bit more tricky.