Magic? Of Course
I once read (in Hickman / Weiss: The Death Gate cycle) a very simple explanation of magic - here it is paraphrased:
All things are possible, even the seemingly impossible ones. Magic is the act of changing the probabilities of making the impossible happen.
That’s not only happening in fantasy books, but in real life as well. By acting in certain ways, doing certain things we influence the world around us so that things happen with a higher probability than not happening.
Examples?
- Put Google AdSense on your pages. You changed the probability of you getting money (not a lot of money, unless you are Jason Calacanis of course)
- Decide to offer [Training for Ruby on Rails][1] and people will call you.
- Lug around a camera and you will see things to take pictures of and your skills doing so increases
- Carry a gun and increase the odds of being dead
- Bring a condom to your next date and increase the chances of getting laid (now that’s one that never worked for me…)
- …
Simple things, simple cause, potential huge effect
There’s a extension to this. I have been using computers for well over 20 years now. It’s the thing I’ve probably spent most of my life with. Sometimes I get asked, where the fascination is. Again simple: The computer is a tool that has infinite possibilites and it allows me to pursue almost everything at any time. It’s my magic wand and my cauldron and my crystal ball. I work magic any time I use it.