This is more for the world of Equestria in general and not TCB in particular, but should be a fun read for the thinkers in our group.

Have you ever wondered why magic has never been explained in MLP? The most we have ever heard was Twilight saying that a spell was going to be difficult. I listened to a presentation about the quantum computer being developed in Southern California where the speaker tried to explain in simple terms how the computer works. Early in his speech he begged the patience of the audience for his inability to not use strange technical terms because the English language was developed in a time when the concepts involved were beyond anything believed possible and, in most cases, even beyond imagination.

The world of quantum physics is a strange one: first there is a philosophy as to what could happen, then scientists work to utilize the discovery. There is a proof of concept step in there, but for now just ignore it. ;p

Now, in the world of magic things work in reverse: people discover that they can do things, then philosophies are made as to how and why it works. The biggest problem that has arisen from this change of order is that everyone is entitled to name their personal discovery, so forums discussing magic, often end up with thousands of people trying to explain their own self-created philosophy of magic because there are common words, but no common concepts for them. The lack of common terms prevents the further development of magic.

If discussion of magic leads to this many flame wars in the real world, how would it ever progress in a world where even more people could argue terminology?

The answer to that question came to me when I learned that the Chinese language is actually multiple languages, but Kanji, the Chinese writing system, is the same for all of them. So, if people from different regions met, they could converse through writing. From this I imagine that the unicorns of Equestria did not agree on any spoken terms for these concepts, but that a prolific philosopher of the time described unnamed glyphs in essays written explicitly for the purpose of creating a concept in the mind that was not bound to the rules of spoken language.

This additional view in the rabble of debate would have grown in popularity in the same way that mathematical symbols have, because the usage of the glyph would not be confined to a single definition, but an array of meanings that could fit into the varying personal philosophies of the practitioners while developing the meaning in such a way as to be used for theorizing the underpinnings and the next step in magic.

These later steps would have come at a slow enough pace so that when a unicorn wrote a breakthrough essay in these glyphs, they could coin a new glyph with near certainty that their discovery will not be contested by another term (glyph).

This would explain why the book Twilight was reading in the pilot was written with glyphs where as (some attempt at) more conventional writing is used for the rest of the show.

4904238
That actually makes a heck of a lotta sense.
I'll keep this theory in mind. Cheers, friendo.

4904238

Have you ever wondered why magic has never been explained in MLP?

It has dawg, it's friendship

...Just wanted to pop that off before somebody beat me to it. I'm excruciatingly tired right now and can't really grok what you're saying but it sounds interesting and I'll think of something when I can do more than stare it like a cross-eyed goon.

I've felt that Unicorns learning magic had to be taught not only through books, but through study with an actual magic user because part of Unicorn magic had to be sensed. Of course, some Unicorns (like Starswirl) may have been more in tune with magical energy, like some humans have perfect pitch, which would allow them to step beyond what they may have learned from other sources. This might also cause a magical language to appear, that can only be understood by Unicorns, because only they can associate the various parts of this language with the magic it represents.

4904238 The question is: Do we need to know how and why it works. Magic generally wouldn't need to be explained in order to work properly, from what I can see.

4904878 Answering you clearly was surprisingly hard. The short of it is: yes, very yes, because magic is internal science. A kidney, is an internal machine: people do not need to know how kidneys work in order for them to function, however if a person develops kidney stones all the time, then they would certainly want to change the way their kidneys worked. Having the ability to make this change doesn't mean much if the person does not know what changes to make.

This is an example of magic effecting matter, however, magic can also be used to effect magic. If I replace those words with science effecting science that would be like the recent invention of a new kind of laser that cools rather than heats what it touches. This makes it possible to slow down living cells and observe them on a microscopic level, which could, by studying viri, lead to a universal vaccine. It could even be, that for the world of Equestria, the multi hundred year lifespan of the ponies is not a natural occurrence, but a development from magic.

Simply put: knowledge is power.

4904878

The question is: Do we need to know how and why it works.

Sure, we don't need to know how or explain how magic works, but it adds ALOT more depth, interest and immersion to a story (or game) when there's a science and method to it all; it helps to make the unreal a bit more "real", even if that world is home to wide-eyed alien pastel equinoids. Style is great when it comes to the art of spellcraft, but even the most simple magics need a little substance for the pretty paint to stick on nicely. Crunch without fluff is boring and fluff without crunch isn't quite filling for long. Long story short and rambling aside, it's just fun!

4904238

Have you ever wondered why magic has never been explained in MLP?

Very easy cop-out answer would be it's a "cartoon for young people", least some would just stop there. Maybe it's buried in the notebooks or minds of the writers somewhere. Or maybe that's something the writers themselves are trying to figure on. *shrugs* In-universe you ask? Maybe it's there, just there hasn't been a episode focusing primarily on the arcane physics of Equestria yet.

In my headcanon/fan theory, magic in Equestria incorporates and/or is similar to how Wizards and Sorcerers from Dungeons and Dragons (another Hasbro property) perform their powers minus the Vancian system : magic (not just that of Unicorns, but all Equestrian sub-races) can be fueled by raw emotions and willpower similar to how Sorcerers do so, as we literally see the forces of friendship and love manifest and strengthen the ponies in the canon show. In other instances, with spellbooks and scrolls laying around, it suggests a similar science, language and structure to it like Wizards have to in order to cast their stuff. And like Greybard suggests, maybe there is a way of "speaking" the magic words that make these spells happen as they perform them through the horn that acts as "mouth" of sorts. At least this is from what I observe and think.

Anyways, it's great to see another thread around here after so many months! (and one that thankfully isn't...erm, gloomy or heated...)

EDIT: Hmm, maybe I missed the point in spots, oh well. This is what happens when I post late in the morning on little sleep.

4905068

Very easy cop-out answer would be it's a "cartoon for young people", least some would just stop there.

The World: The Most Important Character of All.

Maybe it's buried in the notebooks or minds of the writers somewhere. Or maybe that's something the writers themselves are trying to figure on. *shrugs* In-universe you ask? Maybe it's there, just there hasn't been a episode focusing primarily on the arcane physics of Equestria yet.

Honestly, there is no hope of getting an official explanation of magic concerning the MLP universe – in or out. That would force the writing team to have to study something before writing or make the magic equivalent of technobabble. Due to the laziness of the industry, I fear the latter.

...maybe there is a way of "speaking" the magic words that make these spells happen as they perform them through the horn that acts as "mouth" of sorts.

If I spoke the instructions to make vinegar, vinegar would not appear before me. I find no reason to believe that words no matter how “magical” would manifest a desire. I can however, believe that words focus the concentration of a person doing an act.

For most of my life, I have considered the matter as wizards vs sorcerers. During medieval to Renaissance Europe, christians believed wizards were channeling power from outside sources, evil spirits in particular. The wizard may “cast the spell” but it was the spirit that made it happen. This is given a more modern analogy and demonstration in the book Off to Be the Wizard, where “wizards” have discovered they can change reality by making changes to a file on a computer, but their “power” is ever limited by their access to a computer. (For those interested in reading it, this series of books is a turn-your-brain-off guilty pleasure.)

The power of sorcerers, on the other hoof, comes from within and can be thought of like an athlete of the mind. An athlete has to practice pole vaulting to be able to do it correctly every time, but they also need energy to complete the task – nobody succeeds at pole vaulting without giving the task the full amount of energy and concentration it requires.

4905767 The "it's a cartoon for young people" bit was more of joke (if failed one) at the usual excuse some kinds make for lack of consistency or not wanting explanations.

As for the rest I agree.

4905950 I guess I could tell you weren't serious about it, but it was that line that I was fearing from the beginning, so I thought: well, if anyone was going to think that, here is my answer to it... Ok, so it's actually Chatoyance's answer.