28 February 2014

Different powers

I think that the main conflict in Mega Man games - whether or not robots have souls - was actually solved in the first Mega Man X. In that game, as well as many later X games, there's an Easter egg that allows X to do the Hadōken, the famous attack from Street Fighter games. To do the Hadōken, X would need ki, and that would imply that he has a soul. Unless it's not a real Hadōken, but merely a shallow copy.
An interesting question is, what exactly is the difference between psychic powers and magic? Considering that using both requires high intelligence, what's the difference?
Well, it generally depends on the setting. I think it was A Certain Magical Index that suggested that in psychic powers aka ESP, you use energy from within, while in magic, you use energy from outside your body.
My idea is that ESP is the energy of your brain. It's kind of a gift to the few and chosen. It obviously requires very high intelligence. Magic, on the other hand, takes many forms such as alchemy, astrology, numerology and making deals with deities. (The last one implies that prayers are sort-of spells, but don't tell that to fundies.) Either way, it requires study and thus intelligence, but can be done by less gifted through hard work. Just like any actual skill in real life.
Then there's also ki, which is basically life energy that very skilled martial artists can convert into weaponry. Never mind how stupid literally throwing away your own life in the middle of a battle would be. I'm not even sure how chakra works.
Next week, I'll probably see the difference between elves and faeries.
Also, last Wednesday I was playing Pokémon X and found an unusual-looking Graveler. Self-harming moves should be illegal moves to Shinies, especially wild Shinies.