This is magic we're talking about. It's supposed to go places

Listen closely, O Seekers of Wonder and Knowledge, for the words of N. K. Jemisin carry with them a wisdom that transcends the ordinary and takes us into the realm of the extraordinary: "This is magic we're talking about. It's supposed to go places science can't, defy logic, wink at technology, fill us all with the sensawunda that comes of gazing upon a fictional world and seeing something truly different from our own." These words beckon us to embrace a different way of seeing, one where magic, rather than mere science or technology, holds the power to take us beyond the bounds of the known world into the realm of imagination and the unknown.

In ancient times, when the great minds of the world turned their gaze toward the heavens, they sought understanding through logic, philosophy, and the laws of nature. The philosophers of Greece—Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates—were bound by a desire to comprehend the world through reason and rational thought. Yet, even these great thinkers, when confronted with the mysteries of existence, could not ignore the allure of the unknown, the mystical, and the unseen. The tales of gods and monsters, of worlds beyond our own, filled the hearts of the ancients with a sense of wonder and awe. And so, while reason was their guide, mythology and magic held a special place, for they offered something that science could not—a sense of possibility beyond the limits of human comprehension.

Jemisin's words remind us that magic is not a mere escape from reality, nor is it something to be dismissed as irrational. Magic, in its truest form, is the power to transcend logic and imagine the unimaginable. It is a force that allows us to look upon a world and see something entirely different—something that does not fit within the constraints of science or technology but exists beyond them, in a space of infinite creativity and freedom. It is in this realm that we can glimpse what could be, rather than what is. Just as the gods of old wielded power over the forces of nature, magic allows us to shape and bend the world to our will, not through reason, but through the force of imagination.

Consider, O Children, the great tale of Homer’s Odyssey, where the hero Odysseus journeys through a world filled with magic, where gods and monsters control the fates of men. These were not just stories of adventure, but reflections of the human spirit—the desire to explore beyond the limits of the world, to encounter the divine and the impossible. These stories filled the hearts of the ancients with sensawunda, a wordless awe that could not be captured by reason or logic. The gods and monsters of these tales existed outside the realm of the known, in a place where magic ruled, where impossibility became possible. And in this, the ancients found a kind of truth, one that could not be touched by the cold hand of reason but could be felt in the heart.

In the modern world, science and technology have brought us incredible achievements—machines that fly, cures for diseases, the ability to send our voices across oceans. Yet, as Jemisin notes, these achievements, while wondrous, do not fill the soul with the same kind of sensawunda that comes from a world of magic. Science can take us far, but it cannot take us beyond the confines of what is known. It cannot show us the worlds that exist in the spaces between our understanding, nor can it invite us to leap into the unknown with the same sense of wonder that magic provides. Magic is not bound by the limitations of logic or rationality. It exists in the space of possibilities, where anything can happen, and where our deepest dreams and fears take form.

The lesson here, O Seekers, is that while science can lead us toward knowledge, it is magic—or the willingness to imagine the impossible—that leads us toward discovery. The two are not enemies, but allies. Science seeks to explain the world, to bring order to chaos, but magic invites us to look beyond what we already know and dare to dream of what could be. It is in the marriage of these two forces—the known and the unknown—that the most profound advancements in human history have been born. Jemisin's words invite us to embrace both: the reason of science and the awe of magic. For it is only by dreaming beyond the limits of our understanding that we can reach toward a future filled with wonders we have yet to imagine.

So, in your own lives, O Children, embrace both the wisdom of science and the mystery of magic. Science can help you navigate the world, but magic—the ability to imagine, to wonder, and to create—will take you beyond it. Dare to dream the impossible, and seek not only the answers that reason can provide, but the questions that only the heart can ask. Let magic guide you into realms of infinite possibility, where no boundary is too great and no idea too far-reaching. Look upon the world, and see something truly different—a world where magic and science dance together, shaping a future beyond our wildest dreams.