Post by wordy on Dec 4, 2010 16:04:20 GMT 10
Magic vs Technology
by Ubiquitous
Has magic doomed Tortall to forever remain in the Middle Ages and never develop fancy modern technology. In a word – no. While I will concede that it may be a very long time before Tortall sees an iPad, it is my opinion that rather than preventing advancement, magic is what does and will enable Tortallans to develop and in some cases, they are more advanced than our technology allows for. We’ve seen magic as technology put to use several times throughout the books. The most obvious example of magic being used to create technology is the killing devices, but we can see magic in more everyday items and even in areas where Tortall is more advanced than our fancy modern technology.
The killing devices are a use of magic to create a machine. Tortall doesn’t appear to have much in the way of machinery other than the more medieval devices and weapons. But we do see booby traps and the like being created with magic during the Immortals War. And while necromancy may not be the way to go about it, now that it has been done, future wars may turn on weaponry built as a mixture of metal and magic.
In Emperor Mage, we see our friendly heroes asking the Carthakis about their ‘light globes’ and how they created such a long lasting light with crystals. The application of magic could provide for cleaner, greener energy than that we use as mages build on knowledge such as this to create other devices. Long distance communication can be made between mages with the right spells, and not to mention by darking, which are just as effective as any planted bug. Scrying, while only available to mages as yet, is the ultimate webcam. Wild Magic has made animals smarter, meaning they are able to be effective spies and lookouts when hunting or on the battlefield. It may be that the days of messengers are limited if the mages look at way to better such technologies and make it more accessible to ordinary citizens. This goes to other items too. Mage-created maps can show three-dimensional detail, while truth crystals can spot even the tiniest of lies.
Medicine is a field where the use of magic has enabled more progress than our fancy modern technology. Cancer can be cured with early detection, illness and injuries healed with only temporary tiredness as a side effect. And mages can cure sniffles! People in Tortall needn’t suffer from the common cold, which is far more than we can say for our fancy technology. And let’s not forget the good old pregnancy charm. While we are told in quasi-canon that charms can fail occasionally, canon tends to tell us otherwise, giving us an image of a failsafe protection from pregnancy through a small charm with no side effects, which is far better than the protections our technology has given us.
The advancement is there to be made, if and when mages see the need for it and are able to work on it. Just look at how much our own technology has advanced in the last 50 years. Also, research in veterinary science could advance in leaps and bounds as Daine asks animals how they live and their habits, rather than spending years in observation and hypothesis.
While technology may not be created in the same way, it is pretty clear that the technology is there to be applied and Tortall probably won’t be stuck in the Middle Ages for too much longer. In any case, magic is far shinier anyways, and more likely than not, the technology that can be created through magic has the ability to be a lot more reliable and perfect than our own.
Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!