Alfred Korzybski (1879–1950) Polish scientist and philosopher
Edition:Institute of General Semantics, 1995, p. 58.
Science and Sanity (1933)
The Wizardry Compiled (1989)
Alfred Korzybski (1879–1950) Polish scientist and philosopher
Edition:Institute of General Semantics, 1995, p. 58.
Science and Sanity (1933)
“Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host
Profiles of the Future (revised edition, 1973)
On Clarke's Laws
Source: Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible
Richard Dawkins book The Magic of Reality
Duke University, 01/03/2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYcOoqxuroI&t=54m51s <br class="br">The Magic Of Reality (2012) <br class="br">Source: The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True <br class="br">Context: Don’t ever be lazy enough, defeatist enough, cowardly enough to say “I don't understand it so it must be a miracle - it must be supernatural - God did it”. Say instead, that it’s a puzzle, it’s strange, it’s a challenge that we should rise to. Whether we rise to the challenge by questioning the truth of the observation, or by expanding our science in new and exciting directions - the proper and brave response to any such challenge is to tackle it head-on. And until we've found a proper answer to the mystery, it's perfectly ok simply to say “this is something we don't yet understand - but we're working on it”. It's the only honest thing to do. Miracles, magic and myths, they can be fun. Everybody likes a good story. Myths are fun, as long as you don't confuse them with the truth. The real truth has a magic of its own. The truth is more magical, in the best and most exciting sense of the word, than any myth or made-up mystery or miracle. Science has its own magic - the magic of reality.
Richard Hartshorne (1899–1992) American Geographer
Source: The Nature of Geography (1939), p. 425
Max Planck (1858–1947) German theoretical physicist
The Universe in the Light of Modern Physics (1931)
Eliphas Levi (1810–1875) French writer
Miscellaneous Quotes On the Subjects of Magic and Magicians
Source: Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magi Part I: The Doctrine of Transcendental Magic By Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant), Translated by A. E. Waite, England, Rider & Company, England, 1896, p. 53
Alan Moore (1953) English writer primarily known for his work in comic books
De Abaitua interview (1998)
Context: Organised religion has corrupted one of the purest, most powerful and sustaining things in the human condition. It has imposed a middle management, not only in our politics and in our finances, but in our spirituality as well. The difference between religion and magic is the same as what we were talking about earlier – I think you could map that over those two poles of fascism and anarchism. Magic is closer to anarchism.
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
“If there was any magic in this world that was not magic, it was wine.”
Lev Grossman book The Magician's Land
Source: The Magician's Land
“The natural law is an instrument for progress, not a weapon of revolution.”
Russell Kirk (1918–1994) American political theorist and writer
The Roots of American Order (1974)