Path: typhoon.sonic.net!newsfeed.skycache.com!logbridge.uoregon.edu!nntp.teleport.com!news1.teleport.com!not-for-mail From: "Tom Schuler" Newsgroups: alt.religion.wicca,alt.magick References: <87ql1k$lkt@bolt.sonic.net> <38A165C9.2FA5@compuserve.com> <87t4nk$74p@bolt.sonic.net> <38A55892.56CE@compuserve.com> <8883l2$6he@bolt.sonic.net> <88acbj$p6a$2@pan.oamk.fi> <88br6u$25fr$1@nnrp9.crl.com> <38AA32BA.10CE6462@netgoths.com> Subject: Re: Taxonomizing Magic (was 1st Question ) Lines: 30 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2919.6600 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 Message-ID: Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 08:10:09 -0800 NNTP-Posting-Host: 216.26.4.20 X-Complaints-To: news@teleport.com X-Trace: news1.teleport.com 950717360 216.26.4.20 (Wed, 16 Feb 2000 08:09:20 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 08:09:20 PST Organization: Teleport Inc. Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.religion.wicca:274762 alt.magick:179563 "+ren+" wrote in message news:38AA32BA.10CE6462@netgoths.com... > > The answer is, we don't have a very good working theory of > how electromagnetic fields work with living organisms. My > guess is that it has something to do with the nature of magick. Actually we do have a fairly good idea about how they work in living organisms. There are still many unanswered questions, of course, but the basic idea is that neurons generate an electromagnetic charge by chemical means which is conducted from one cell to another via chemical triggers called "neuro-transmitters". The field produced by these charges is very small and operates according to the same principles as any other electromagnetic field. The effects of these fields are confined to a very small area and have no detectable effect at even fractions of an inch from the body. Another form of electromagnetic energy produced by the body is heat, from the oxidation of materials we ingest. That heat is detectable from a distance, but its effects couldn't be confused with telepathy or telekinesis except by those with terminal naivete. What we don't have is any clear and replicable examples of psychic powers working at a distance, with or without electromagnetic fields. Nor do we have any evidence to suggest that claims of the effects of psychic powers conform to the laws governing the operation of magnetic fields. In fact, many of the claims are in clear violation of such laws as we do know. Does this mean that there are no such powers? No, it doesn't. However, in the absence of any clear and replicable demonstration, one can't reasonably conclude that they *do* exist, either.