What's the source of power of wizard in the Potter universe?

[Sebastian Martinez]

@phinds
It was not relevant to them. At all. Their belief was: they already had all the answers.

One of my neighbors was convinced he was witched. I did not try to talk him out of it.

Another good friend was working in his field. A dust devil formed and swept over him. He fell extremely ill later that day. Dust devils are spirits of evil beings.

You have to just go with the flow, and stay out of it. Yet other experiences with non-science explanations: My wife died in my house. Months later, a breeze blew through the house. Although I thought all the doors and windows were shut, my neighbors from the Rez told me it was the spirit of my wife leaving and saying good-bye. I thought it was one of those gusts that sometimes come down thru fireplaces. But what did I know?

It simply boils down to the kind of thinking virtually everyone in the Western world had prior to the Renaissance. It persists. In the Western world, too.

I believe in science and witchcraft. Is it a bad thing?

 

[phinds]

I believe in science and witchcraft. Is it a bad thing?

Good and bad are moral judgements. Believe what you like, just don't expect scientists to take you seriously. In fact, expect them to roll their eyes.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Good and bad are moral judgements. Believe what you like, just don't expect scientists to take you seriously. In fact, expect them to roll their eyes.

Yes, incredible at what even "professionals" and media in parts of Africa still attribute crime to the Tokoloshe monster!

Part of why I have so little trust.

 

[Khatti]

I believe in science and witchcraft. Is it a bad thing?

No, but it will get you talked about.

Good and bad are moral judgements. Believe what you like, just don't expect scientists to take you seriously. In fact, expect them to roll their eyes.

Say what you like, I've yet to attend a funeral where the minister intoned: "In our hour of need let us never forget that a body continues in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is acted upon by external forces. The rate of change of momentum of a moving body is proportional to and in the same direction as the force acting upon it. And if one body exerts a force on another, there is an equal and opposite force, called a reaction, exerted on the first body by the second."

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

No, but it will get you talked about.
Say what you like, I've yet to attend a funeral where the minister intoned: "In our hour of need let us never forget that a body continues in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is acted upon by external forces. The rate of change of momentum of a moving body is proportional to and in the same direction as the force acting upon it. And if one body exerts a force on another, there is an equal and opposite force, called a reaction, exerted on the first body by the second."

But would we really know if the person is dead unless we open the coffin?

 

[Khatti]

But would we really know if the person is dead unless we open the coffin?

True. Until we make and observation--but then all other possibilities are eliminated. It's just too sad.

 

[tobyr65]

Ryan those are fighting words and we're supposed to be nice. Harry Potter is fully justified. It is written at a third grade level and fully explained. Anyone who has cracked the book knows that wizards are born magical and can perform some magic by accident before training begins. Once schooled in magic, wizards learn how to control that magic. Wizards are not all equal just as some Muggles are not all IQ equal.

 

[DaveC426913]

Ryan those are fighting words ...

To what do you refer? Do you mean Ryan's initial post? You should use the quote feature, so that people can read the text and follow the link:

The book has no justification. The ability to perform spells is determined by how well you can say/think them and wave your wand.

 

[tobyr65]

You should use the quote feature, so that people can read the text and follow the link:
[/QUOTE]

I did not see 'mentor' by your name but hey I'll bite. When replying to a thread part and selecting the quote button I do not just receive the remarks of the person I want to respond to. Rather I get the quote from every thread in every forum I've liked and or visited for the entire log in session. It is inconvenient. How do I get around this issue?

 

[DaveC426913]

I get the quote from every thread in every forum I've liked and or visited for the entire log in session.

When you click +QUOTE it is adding the reply to any replies you already have there, so the list builds up in the 'Review Selected Messages' popup dialogue. That list should zero itself out once you've inserted the ones you want.

If, for some reason, they're not zeroing out, you can always remove them in the 'Review Selected Messages' popup before inserting - there's a little 'remove' button in the upper right of each quote.

But in normal use it should work just fine.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Ryan those are fighting words and we're supposed to be nice. Harry Potter is fully justified. It is written at a third grade level and fully explained. Anyone who has cracked the book knows that wizards are born magical and can perform some magic by accident before training begins. Once schooled in magic, wizards learn how to control that magic. Wizards are not all equal just as some Muggles are not all IQ equal.

The thread question is specifically the source of a wizards power. The worldbuilding of the books does contain many rules about the magic (though the worldbuilding itself is weak in favour of entertainment, which is by no means necessarily a bad thing), for instance:

• Ability to use it is mostly inherited in some manner
• It requires specific artefacts (wands, potions etc) to work properly
• Performing spells almost always requires specific words to be clearly said/thought along with appropriate wand movements

But no where do we get an inclination of why these things work. To my knowledge there's no part of the mythology that accounts for what the difference is between wizards and muggles, where the energy comes from to power spells, why spellcasting actions lead to the consequences they do etc. Contrast that to fantasy such as the KingKiller Chronicle or anything by Brandon Sanderson where all parts of magic have explanations for how and why they work within that universes rules.

This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing. Some fiction works well with having the science of magic set out and explained (the discovery is often a good part of the plot). For others it's unnessary and not the focus of the story (like LOTR that had very loose mythology on what magic was, let alone how it worked).

You should use the quote feature, so that people can read the text and follow the link:

I did not see 'mentor' by your name but hey I'll bite. When replying to a thread part and selecting the quote button I do not just receive the remarks of the person I want to respond to. Rather I get the quote from every thread in every forum I've liked and or visited for the entire log in session. It is inconvenient. How do I get around this issue?

If you click the reply button on someone's post a copy of that post is automatically quoted for you. If you hit the quote button the forum software adds the quote to a list of quotes. If you click "insert quotes" in the bottom left of the text box you can review all quotes in that list and remove them as needed,

 

[tobyr65]

If, for some reason, they're not zeroing out, you can always remove them in the 'Review Selected Messages' popup before inserting - there's a little 'remove' button in the upper right of each quote.[/QUOTE]

Thank you. It works the way it should on the laptop but sometimes i am using a phone and its not the same.

 

[DaveC426913]

You can also quote a piece of text manually if you want.
In the above post, you see that your text ended with a closing [ /QUOTE ]
If it had started with an opening [ QUOTE ], it would have made a proper quotation.

 

[Flyx]

For example in DBZ, the level of power is determined by the ki, so what about the potter universe?

Each wand has a unique length, core material, and flexibility. I believe it is the core material that give the power.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

You can also quote a piece of text manually if you want.
In the above post, you see that your text ended with a closing [ /QUOTE ]
If it had started with an opening [ QUOTE ], it would have made a proper quotation.

I just "ACCIO QUOTE!"

And yes, I have a copy of the Elder Wand here.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Each wand has a unique length, core material, and flexibility. I believe it is the core material that give the power.

The cores are from magical creatures, so yeah. Harry and Moldevort have Phoenix feather cores in their wands, both from Faux, Dumbledore's pet.

 

[DaveC426913]

Each wand has a unique length, core material, and flexibility. I believe it is the core material that give the power.

The cores are from magical creatures, so yeah. Harry and Moldevort have Phoenix feather cores in their wands, both from Faux, Dumbledore's pet.

But these just move the question farther down the line.

What gives the Phoenix feather its magical properties?

 

[Flyx]

But these just move the question farther down the line.

What gives the Phoenix feather its magical properties?

Maybe they're like physical properties. They just are.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

But these just move the question farther down the line.

What gives the Phoenix feather its magical properties?

A sublime disregard for the natural laws of the Universe?

 

[DaveC426913]

Maybe they're like physical properties. They just are.

We can describe how physical properties operate.

A sublime disregard for the natural laws of the Universe?

Certainly. But it doesn't really describe how it works, does it?

 

[OrangeDog]

Maybe they are all on acid and it is just a great big hallucination..mmmmmaaaannnnnnnnn.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Maybe they are all on acid and it is just a great big hallucination..mmmmmaaaannnnnnnnn.

I miss the '70s too, man.

 

[Khatti]

I miss the '70s too, man.

Please God, let me got back to that time. I promise I'll be good this time!

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Please God, let me got back to that time. I promise I'll be good this time!

Where's the fun in that?

 

[Khatti]

Where's the fun in that?

That certainly is a dilemma.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

That certainly is a dilemma.

"From a certain point of view." ;)

 

[Hoophy]

I think that the source of wizard power is magnetic fields produced by cellular electromagnets in their muscles. They can ionize particles in the world with a type of subatomic particle that comes to Earth from the sun, they can capture it through their skin (kind of like a plant capturing photons) from the sun. Their cells capture these 'wizard particles' and redirect them to matter outside the body so that they may allow the matter to follow the local magnetic fields generated by the wizards, however their exotic nature allows the particles to behave in exotic ways, these special magnetic fields only affect 'wizard particles' and NOTHING else, on the same note the 'wizard particles' can only be directed by 'wizard magnetic fields'. Evolution 'Jerry-Rigged' the language controlling center of the brain to also control the position and shape of the magnetic fields that direct the 'wizard particles'. Actually saying the words also makes the muscles in the face to produce the magnetic fields of certain shapes based on the type of facial movement. The English language was actually created when wizards associated real world phenomenon with the results of their vocal spells. 'Wizard Particles dissipate from conjoined atoms over time and may even dispel thermal energy over many light years evenly. This explains where they go even though their signature can not feasibly be measured. Talismans can manipulate 'magic' by being imbued with certain 'wizard magnetic fields' they can be magnetized by these special magnetic fields. Wands augment magic because they contain dead cells of organisms who were especially good at generating 'wizard magnetic fields' the structure of the cells helps stabilize the fields produced by the wizard. They contain proteins that even though denatured can still direct 'wizard magnetic fields' Keep in mind that these 'wizard magnetic fields' are not actually magnetic at all, they only seem to share a few properties. Imagine it as an undiscovered force in the universe that does not really affect anything abiotic unless structures are designed to harness it. Also I made all of this up right now, this is just a way for me to imagine the reason wizards can wield magic and muggles can not. I use this to explain biologically and physically why they can use magic. The source of the energy is the food the wizard eats. (Just like how most animals get energy). The specialized cells and proteins are inherited in the DNA as complete dominant traits. Mudbloods can manipulate magic because a even more dominant (IKR :D) trait was not present that normally suppresses the wizard genes. Wizards need a lot more energy to survive than muggles. In some survival scenarios a muggle would be naturally selected for more so than an unskilled unaided wizard.

 

[Hoophy]

I think that the source of wizard power is magnetic fields produced by cellular electromagnets in their muscles. They can ionize particles in the world with a type of subatomic particle that comes to Earth from the sun, they can capture it through their skin (kind of like a plant capturing photons) from the sun. Their cells capture these 'wizard particles' and redirect them to matter outside the body so that they may allow the matter to follow the local magnetic fields generated by the wizards, however their exotic nature allows the particles to behave in exotic ways, these special magnetic fields only affect 'wizard particles' and NOTHING else, on the same note the 'wizard particles' can only be directed by 'wizard magnetic fields'. Evolution 'Jerry-Rigged' the language controlling center of the brain to also control the position and shape of the magnetic fields that direct the 'wizard particles'. Actually saying the words also makes the muscles in the face to produce the magnetic fields of certain shapes based on the type of facial movement. The English language was actually created when wizards associated real world phenomenon with the results of their vocal spells. 'Wizard Particles dissipate from conjoined atoms over time and may even dispel thermal energy over many light years evenly. This explains where they go even though their signature can not feasibly be measured. Talismans can manipulate 'magic' by being imbued with certain 'wizard magnetic fields' they can be magnetized by these special magnetic fields. Wands augment magic because they contain dead cells of organisms who were especially good at generating 'wizard magnetic fields' the structure of the cells helps stabilize the fields produced by the wizard. They contain proteins that even though denatured can still direct 'wizard magnetic fields' Keep in mind that these 'wizard magnetic fields' are not actually magnetic at all, they only seem to share a few properties. Imagine it as an undiscovered force in the universe that does not really affect anything abiotic unless structures are designed to harness it. Also I made all of this up right now, this is just a way for me to imagine the reason wizards can wield magic and muggles can not. I use this to explain biologically and physically why they can use magic. The source of the energy is the food the wizard eats. (Just like how most animals get energy). The specialized cells and proteins are inherited in the DNA as complete dominant traits. Mudbloods can manipulate magic because a even more dominant (IKR :D) trait was not present that normally suppresses the wizard genes. Wizards need a lot more energy to survive than muggles. In some survival scenarios a muggle would be naturally selected for more so than an unskilled unaided wizard.

I forgot to mention, this is rubbish.

 

[Khatti]

I forgot to mention, this is rubbish.

But intricately reasoned, elaborately pondered rubbish!

 

[Hoophy]

But intricately reasoned, elaborately pondered rubbish!

I was sitting in a waiting room on my phone, perhaps it made me a little bit nuts from waiting so long. Once I started there was no stopping the flow. Maybe if I mention that the laws used pertain to phenomenon that are not traditional, in that case you can make anything obey 'physics law' in a fictional universe. They are just revisions to the fictional worlds universal laws. :D

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

What changes would have to occur for HPverse-style magic to work here? Total rewrite? Minor tweaks? Somewhere in between?

 

[Hoophy]

What changes would have to occur for HPverse-style magic to work here? Total rewrite? Minor tweaks? Somewhere in between?

It's up to you, but if the 'new' forces could not be produced or used abiotically then it would be up to the author to mention them. No difference would be observed on the cosmic scale or any scale without the presence of magical organisms. It would be of no consequence to avoid mentioning the source of power but if you did then people would be picking apart the explanation. If the forces interacted with the universe naturally (in the absence and presence of life) though it would be very interesting.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I meant "here" as in the real world. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Hoophy]

I meant "here" as in the real world. Sorry for the confusion.

No clue! :D

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

No clue! :D

I have none either, but if somebody comes up with a way I've got a fiver that it includes the word "quantum".