From nobody@digitalkingdom.org Mon Dec 24 21:25:46 2007 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list lojban-list); Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:25:46 -0800 (PST) Received: from nobody by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.68) (envelope-from ) id 1J72IM-0003uE-7s for lojban-list-real@lojban.org; Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:25:43 -0800 Received: from squid17.laughingsquid.net ([72.32.93.144]) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.68) (envelope-from ) id 1J72I5-0003s9-Pk for lojban-list@lojban.org; Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:25:33 -0800 Received: (qmail 28700 invoked by uid 48); 24 Dec 2007 21:24:47 -0800 Received: from c-24-63-92-33.hsd1.ma.comcast.net (c-24-63-92-33.hsd1.ma.comcast.net [24.63.92.33]) by webmail.ixkey.info (Horde MIME library) with HTTP; Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:24:47 -0800 Message-ID: <20071224212447.mbv0pb521ws4so4k@webmail.ixkey.info> Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:24:47 -0800 From: mungojelly@ixkey.info To: lojban-list@lojban.org Subject: [lojban] Re: "Magician" - a case of deliberate polysemy? References: <97f5058c0712181546m7773b121g52c1ecc3a64348ba@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <97f5058c0712181546m7773b121g52c1ecc3a64348ba@mail.gmail.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; DelSp="Yes"; format="flowed" Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit User-Agent: Internet Messaging Program (IMP) H3 (4.1.4) X-Spam-Score: 0.0 X-Spam-Score-Int: 0 X-Spam-Bar: / X-archive-position: 14056 X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Sender: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org Errors-to: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: mungojelly@ixkey.info Precedence: bulk Reply-to: lojban-list@lojban.org X-list: lojban-list Quoting Penguino : > Perhaps that is what the x2 of *makfa* is for: something may be "magic" to > me, but not to the performer. *zo'o* That's exactly my understanding of zo makfa. I'm reminded of Clarke's third law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." What is magic? Magic is something that you don't understand how it works! Stage magic is "makfa" to the audience, but for the performer it's just a trick. I would opine that it may be the same with "real" sorcerers, depending on how their magic works: It's possible that it's makfa to the magician as well-- if all they know is that you wave your hands the right way & it happens-- or it's possible that they understand enough of the reason why their world works that way that to them it's simple & practical, & it's only "magical" to the uninitiated. doi ro do .i xu do tugni pau? mu'o mi'e bret. To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to lojban-list-request@lojban.org with the subject unsubscribe, or go to http://www.lojban.org/lsg2/, or if you're really stuck, send mail to secretary@lojban.org for help.