I can sense you have ten ranks in Not Answer Questions.

Right now we can say that Pinkie's tail twitching is correlated with objects falling. That's about it.

Non-Muppet pagetopper!

edited 11th Sep '12 6:55:20 PM by CountDorku

@Count: Now I got a reason, Now I got a reason...

ESP could be categorized as an innate ability with a "plausible" explanation.

The platypus is the man!

edited 11th Sep '12 6:56:15 PM by condottiera

Perhaps the difference is that magic warps reality/bends and science only uses it?

Also Twi was studying Pinkie Sense wrong :P

Anyways, Magic usually refers to three things: energy, processes or devices that defy conventional Physics. However, most magic as observed and studied does not actually violate prime Physics, like, say, the Second Thermodynamic Law. Gandalf admits his Art of Fire requires fuel an air, for one, while Harry Dresden's barriers do not stop his hands from being scorched until he fixes that flaw, and Nanoha can use shrapnel from shooting the floor to bypass AMF barriers.

There are whole textbooks on the matter, as one can ask professors from either the Unseen University or Hogwarts (Unseen Textbooks tend to have better documentation).

edited 11th Sep '12 7:02:19 PM by AceOfScarabs

Science is the poetry of reality.

I like the sound of that.

edited 11th Sep '12 6:58:35 PM by FallenLegend

Hey, I am one of the most pro-science guys in this thread.

Doesn't necessarily mean I want magic to work the same way.

@Count: But it's what we wanna do!

@Count Dorku -

I am also very pro-science.

I am also very religious.

edited 11th Sep '12 6:59:01 PM by dRoy

I'm beginning to think you have a problem.

...Good for you?

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how religion is relevant to science or magic.

edited 11th Sep '12 7:00:04 PM by CountDorku

Huh, this is an intreasting headcanon.

http://feyrah.deviantart.com/art/Not-one-Step-closer-322390041

@Count: Well I'm so happy, I'm feeling so fine!

Religion is Magic

edited 11th Sep '12 7:00:57 PM by condottiera

@Dorku - I brought that up because, why not.

Huh. There's a question.

Have we ever seen a dedicated place of worship anywhere in the show? Any churches, shrines or cathedrals?

I mean, OK, the closest thing to a religion we've seen has at its head a deity-figure who actively works to oppose her own worship, but is it possible there could be other religions within Equestria?

@Dorku: Vehumet is the God of destructive magic :V

There's totally a bunch of Discord cultists somewhere.

edited 11th Sep '12 7:04:25 PM by AceOfScarabs

Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack Rainbowdash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity VS A Dalek.

@Dorku - Considering how we hear phrases like "For the love of Celestia!" and such, that is quite likely.

Of course, not that we will ever get to see anything like that. So much flamebait.

@Ace - I can definitely see such.

edited 11th Sep '12 7:05:36 PM by dRoy

@ Connie: I'm not saying the thread gets weird when you're here, but

@Count: The closest we've gotten to any semblance of religion in the show is the "With Celestia as my witness" type stuff, and that doesn't really mean a whole lot. I mean, typically you take an oath by the highest available authority, which happens to be Celestia in this case. I doubt there's really any religious organization in Equestria. They probably couldn't get away with it in a kids show anyway.

edited 11th Sep '12 7:05:48 PM by JapaneseTeeth

@Count: She ain't no human being!

OK, that's end of the album. I think I'm done for now. Maybe something a little less angry.

I bet there are cultists of Lord Smooze as well.

The closest thing to religion depicted in the show has been various ponies invoking Celestia's name as they would a deity, and the blink-and-you-miss-it funeral in Hearts and Hooves Day, which could easily be secular.

Semi-ninja'd

edited 11th Sep '12 7:06:41 PM by PerpetualLurker

If Religion is Magic in Equestria, and belief is power, if you got the populace to believe in something else, then Celestia and Luna could conceivably lose everything and be brought down to the level of regular ponies. That could be interesting. I'd definitely think it'd be cool to approach this from a Twilight of the Gods angle.

edited 11th Sep '12 7:07:49 PM by Drenius

I seriously doubt that's the case; if it was Celestia would be treated as a deity rather than a princess, and Twilight would be a priest or something. Whenever magic shows up in the show it's treated more as science than anything else.

edited 11th Sep '12 7:07:33 PM by JapaneseTeeth

I was curious whether I'd missed a scene in some episode just showing, I don't know, a shot of Canterlot Cathedral in the middle distance.

Now that I know I did not, um, I dunno, we can make up some fanon pony religions or something. Or negotiate. Or safari.