There is no Magic
The most basic premise upon which this paper is built is the statement: There is no magic.
Magic is a power or causal force by which some effect comes into being but which has no logical explanation. It is not a cause which has not yet been logically explained. It is a cause which cannot be explained.
Throughout history, magic has played a prominent role:
What causes lightning? Magic.
What causes the seasons? Magic.
By what forces do witches, spirits, and the gods work their wills on the world?
Until the scientific age the overwhelmingly dominant answer to these questions has been: Magic.
With the scientific age came an aversion to magic. Everything is explainable. If some effect cannot be explained now it will be explained later but all things can be explained logically. This was the spirit of science.
Then came Einstein’s Theory of Relativity which solved some problems but set the stage for the re-emergence of magic.
Matter curves the space-time continuum. How?
Dark matter exists. Dark energy exists. How and how?
The presence or gravity slows down time. How?
Light always travels at the speed of light. How?
The answer to these questions is: because the math says so. In our modern age mathematics is magic for physics. One does not need to have a grip on reality to do physics. One needs only to be a wizard of mathematics.
Case in point: String Theory. String theory is such a preposterous perversion of science that where to begin as the most difficult part of mocking it. It requires eleven dimensions. By definition, (n + 1) dimensional reality is infinitely more complex than n dimensional reality. Four dimensions are difficult enough to stomach since only three are readily apparent. Five would have Occam rolling on the floor laughing and six would have him weeping in horror. Multiply that by infinity five more times and you have some ideal of the unconscionable travesty that is String Theory.
Matter is made of one dimensional strings in motion according to string theory. However, n dimensional objects have no existence relative to (n + 1) dimensional objects. The (n + 1) dimensional objects have infinitely more density so the n dimensional object could have no interaction with an (n + 1) dimensional object. How is it that the mathematical wizards along with the rest of the world could not see the obvious disconnect between the magical world of math and reality?
As these examples illustrate, modern physics is full of mathematical magic. Another word for this phenomenon, coined for this paper, is mathemysticism. The point is made. No need to bring up quantum mechanics, uncertainty, certain cats, or any of that ilk.
With Occam’s blessing and Newton’s spirit, this paper declares that there is no magic, all things have an explanation, and there is no excuse to settle for anything less. Even if it is truly impossible to understand some effect due to the limitations of human senses and the three dimensional human perspective a scientist will settle for ignorance rather than appeal to magic.
The source of the magical perspective has been found. The original step away from sanity has been identified. It lies within Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and the mistake is a subtle matter of perspective which anyone who accepts the concept of the space-time continuum makes with him. Einstein failed to define the term: dimension.
