Hullo! • Avariel 23/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC That was really interesting, about science, :) In fact, I REALLY liked it, was it in a journal? If so, which and when? :) I'm a student at Stony Brook, and a member of the SF4M, and trying to get this thing to look like something's happening so that our club would look good ;) "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" • s******j@**.com 24/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC >On Apr 23, 1996 23:14:59 in article , 'Avariel ><****@i*.******b.edu>' wrote:   >> "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" AHRRRRRGGHGHGHGHGHGHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!!! I'm gonna buy a ticket to McArthur and bust into the forum with an Alex Be Good Stick (tm) and LEARN YOU FOLKS SOME SENSE if you'all keep coming up with stuff like this. Science as we know it today came from a school of thought known in the middle ages as "natural philosophy." It espoused the radical idea that by actually studying nature (in the broad sense of the word, not the limited "birds, whales, and trees" aspect that's popular now) you could learn how it worked. This was in stark contrast to scholastical notions of the world, that held that you could learn things by pondering upon them . . . or magical understandings, which were based on the tropes of human myths and human psychological needs. Science is based on a study of nature -- the physical world -- in all of its forms. It's methodical, and over the span of time tends toward objectivity. (Like every human endeavor, there are biases and fads in science, but they tend to cancel each other out with time.) If you, YOU THE PERSON READING THIS, took the time to duplicate the observations and experiments of old, you will come up with the same or similar conclusions. You could DO IT given the time and effort. Nature is understandable, and explorable. Study of it yields results. It is not "magic." Magic. Fah. Magic doesn't work; it's a hobby for dweebs and pathetoids who can't cut the mustard. It's a feel-good delusion that lets ignoramuses think they've got control over their lives. Don't fall for it. DO NOT BE ONE OF THE IGNORANT MASSES! SCIENCE LETS YOU KNOW HOW THE WORLD REALLY WORKS! IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AT TIMES BECAUSE THE WORLD IS A COMPLEX PLACE! IT'S NOT "COMFORTING" BECAUSE THE WORLD AIN'T ALWAYS A *NICE* PLACE! BUT AT LEAST YOU WON'T BE A *CHUMP*! -- Stefan -- +-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+ ***@***.com ~ s*****s@a*****.***u.edu ~ s******j@**.com http://www.ini.cmu.edu/~sjones/ • g*****o@k****.****t.net 25/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC : >> "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" : DO NOT BE ONE OF THE IGNORANT MASSES! SCIENCE LETS YOU KNOW HOW THE : WORLD REALLY WORKS! IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AT TIMES BECAUSE THE : WORLD IS A COMPLEX PLACE! IT'S NOT "COMFORTING" BECAUSE THE WORLD AIN'T : ALWAYS A *NICE* PLACE! BUT AT LEAST YOU WON'T BE A *CHUMP*! You tell them Stefan. The next thing we know, these fools will be the next willing victims of Scientology. It is time for people to take a stand against all of the dweebs that defend their so called "magic". I just love how they claim it to be their 'religion'. What a load of crap. • Carl Pearson 25/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC Kevin Conod wrote: > > "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" > This is a paraphrase of SF author Arthur C. Clarke. It seems to be taken out > of context here. I think Clarke meant that things magical are not > supernatural, but natural phenomena we don't understand yet. You're right. The original quote was: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- Open the pod bay doors, HAL. _________________________________________________________________ Carl Pearson P.O. Box 92196, Houston, TX 77206-2196 <****@h**-**c.org> Support Disc Golf...Sport of the future! PDGA #7777 HFDS #070 • Avariel 25/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC On 24 Apr 1996, Jeff Serandos wrote: > > "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" > > For me, I think that point came in high school physics. > WOW for me it was Collage physics! ;-P • m******n@m****.***.*****n.edu 25/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC In article , Avariel <****@i*.******b.edu> wrote: >On 24 Apr 1996, Jeff Serandos wrote:   >> > "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!"   >>   >> For me, I think that point came in high school physics.   >> >WOW for me it was Collage physics! ;-P Pasting springs and resistors to photographs of Newton? I wish I had had a course like that! Matthew Kudzin m******n@m***.***.*****n.edu • j********s@u**.********e.com 24/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC On Apr 23, 1996 23:14:59 in article , 'Avariel <****@i*.******b.edu>' wrote: > "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" For me, I think that point came in high school physics. • k******d@d*****i.com 25/04/1996 00:00:000 UTC > "At a certain point, High Science can seem like High Magic!" This is a paraphrase of SF author Arthur C. Clarke. It seems to be taken out of context here. I think Clarke meant that things magical are not supernatural, but natural phenomena we don't understand yet. "The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." --Eden Phillpotts Hmmm....it's seems to be "Let's pick on Avariel" day. Sorry! -- Doc k******d@d*****i.com "We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night" -- John Brashear