I have two phrases that I use regularly, they have been favourites of mine for many years.
‘Magic is Science not yet understood’ You watch the man on the stage conjure his magic trick and you are left in awe and wonder, how did he do that?
And then, there is the
‘Enlightenment stops being fun when it becomes Science’ – In other words, you have started to understand the magic that has played out before you and you appreciate and understand the joy it has given, but the moment you understand the science behind it, the awe and enjoyment evaporates.
Lets look at this.
Magic is the first Spark
It is the name we give to the world before we have the tools and intelligence to decode it. It shimmers at the edge of comprehension, lightning is a god’s anger, An illness is a curse, Stars are holes punched in the sky, and the sky itself is a dome that shields us, from what!.
Magic is not false. Magic is simply the truth we have not yet learned to articulate.
Magic is fun, Sorcery however is to be feared, but they are the same thing. It is the emotional reality that precedes the intellectual one.
Science – The Second Spark
Science arrives like a lantern in a dark room. It does not kill the magic; it reveals the mechanism beneath it. Lightning becomes electricity. Curses become pathogens. Alchemy becomes chemistry, the stars in the Sky become Suns like our own.
Science is the architecture behind the awe. It is the grammar of the universe, the structure beneath the shimmer.
In revealing the mechanism, it also changes the flavour of the wonder.
Enlightenment – The Third Spark
Enlightenment bridges the Magic and the Science. It is the moment when the mystery becomes a pattern to be recognised, when the sleight of hand is revealed and when the impossible becomes inevitable.
Enlightenment carries a quiet cost. The moment we understand the trick, the applause softens. The moment we see the gears, the illusion fades.
This is why enlightenment stops being fun when the science is understood: the heart wants the wonder, but the mind needs the explanation.
And once the mind wins, the heart falls silent. There is a sadness.
The Truth
Magic and enlightenment are not opposites. They are cousins, born from the same impulses, where to look at the world and ask, What is this? Magic is the question. Science is the answer. Enlightenment is the moment the two recognise each other.
To hold all three without letting any one of them smother the others is wisdom.
Perhaps, let’s not over analyse this too much, lets keep it wild.
Sometimes preserving the magic requires refusing the science, sometimes the right course is the one that defies the map, and just sometimes, piracy is wisdom. Enjoy the Magic!