Quote:Which means that he mostly knows what he is doing. He can enchant entire circuit boards... I'm talk random components changing function in a system requiring rather complex and exacting tollerances. Part of the reason that Doug's world has that high synergy going for it is that people believe its going to work in the first place. In magic believing it will work is often the difference between it working or not. Doug's world has a large group of mages who didn't learn that magic-tech fail to mesh.
Then again, Doug comes from a world where the tech-magic synergy is especially strong; modern magic is usually designed with FCC Class A or B certification, and Doug's powers seem to comply with that.
Once you have a single example of magic and tech mixing usefully, tech-magic start mixing more easily. Basically the idea gets in people's heads that the mixing will work. At Hogwarts they specifically tell the kids at an early age that magic-tech can't mesh. When reading HP listen to what the teachers are actually telling the kids in the classes.
They teach about witch burnings by calling them silly. In fact with a now simple charm flames tickle instead of burning. Somehow one witch decided getting burned at the stake over 20 times. Logically this is very random and she may have paid people to do it for the historical record, if it happened at all. In the 'Wheel of Time' books only 3 of 5 types of strings of magic got used the other two were totally off limits and always lethal... until someone who didn't learn that rule managed cure the dreaded 'stilling' by including earth strings. At that point it was the best idea EVER to include the previously forbidden strings. Many people don't test rules like these they just except them. Having others who learned these rules constantly reinforce them without proof helps keep such rules around. Which is part of what Hermione does with all her quoting of books like 'Hogwarts a History'.
First, the witch managed to get through 20 confession sessions without losing her wand... without being tortured... without someone seeing her not burning and being happy in the flames and getting speared with a pitch fork. This is without the weeks starving in a sweat box with a dozen other increasingly insane people like at Salem. At Salem many of them were hanged and not burned anyway.
If you think about it the ministry does have an entire preexisting department dealing with successfully enchanted muggle artifacts... if it wasn't possible to enchant the 'muggle artifacts' successfully why have an entire department to fight off such things? Granted officially its because the enchanted artifacts can be discovered by muggles and the freaks that like making muggle things attack people. So while these they concentrate on the hurtful stuff, beneficial stuff is made... like flying cars.
So we literally have cannon evidence with Mr. Weasly's job, pointing to the idea that enchanting electronics can work. So the questions are 'Why do they go crazy at Hogwarts?' and 'Is it on purpose?'
The reason behind all the cool shiny enchanted stuff at Hogwarts comes to mind. Why make kids learn overly complex ways of going anywhere in the building? Why make coming up with amusing hexes (which those pathetic muggles can't do anything about) a major pass time? Why spend all that time telling the kids how useless 97 or so percent to the worlds population is? Why make it so every race beyond the wizarding humans is considered a lesser being?
Answer indoctrination. They want kids to get involved in the magical world and stay there. One of the fastest ways to non-violently kill a society is to have the young leave it in droves. The MoM is often inept... imagine how long it would last if it was discovered that in America the wizarding community freely allowed access to the internet... a muggle invention full of more porn than has ever existed in history. In ever increasing amounts.
Wizards are kind of quirky at best... the purebloods would have how many fetishes? And if they couldn't find theirs... they could have a sight made. Granted it won't occur until after Harry is older than Hogwarts age, as the series takes place starting in the early 90s and the internet will kick in right after MoM is gutted and Voldie kicks it. Society is a wreck, the old guard is gone, time to experience new freedoms and reaffirm life.
Anyway, I doubt shielding tech is going to be a thought in the minds of the majority of wizards. I do wonder if using a portkey within the confines of a nest of high voltage lines would have similar effects to tossing a portable hole into a bag of holding.
Lightning was often the mark of the highest powers in western mythology, fire of effective vs. mortals but lower class monsters. Even the terrible horror known as Typhon was dropped when hit with enough lightning... lightning does do bad things to muscle control after all.
I consider myself welcomed... you can consider me long winded.