Reality As Strange As Fiction – Addendum

Further to my earlier post, where are we on the question of whether magic exists? Does the mere fact that a phenomenon can be explained negate its magical quality? If my character can bend light to make herself invisible – a principle that is very much at the forefront of science – is it magic or Science Fiction?

One of the characteristics that can turn a book into a fantasy book is if someone can open a door with but a wave of the hand. Well, Jean-Luc Picard only needs to walk up to a door and it opens. Star Trek is Science Fiction, not Fantasy. Or are the two categories the same? Is that why book sellers like to bung them together as “Sci-fi/Fantasy”?

Science Fiction: Doctor Who uses a sonic screwdriver. He points it at something and computers spring to life. The world is saved.
Fantasy: Harry Potter uses a wand. He points it at something, and the something springs to life. The world is saved.

So in grossly simplified terms, may we assume Science Fiction is Fantasy with props? The medium in Fantasy books is magic, and magic effected by technology is Science Fiction.

Which still begs the question. Does magic, with or without the aid of machinery, exist?

Once upon a time, the photoelectric effect behaved not as expected. If I connected an instrument to a plate of metal to measure current, and then shine light onto the metal, the instrument shows current is being produced. At one point that alone would have seemed like magic.

What if the instrument’s display behaves erratically, showing high numbers for low-intensity (dim) light but low numbers for high-intensity (bright) light? Is it Science Fiction/magic if we cannot explain it?

By every definition I’ve ever come across to describe the principles of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, that does seem to be the case.

You may refer to strange, unexplainable effects as “magic,” or you may call them “not yet discovered science.” Kind of depends on your attitude.

The only question is, do you want to believe in magic?