"The Mundanes have a saying: Any Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Dark mutterings from the Slytherin side of the room accompanied confusion from the Gryffindor side.
"Well, think about it," Professor Sangnoir continued. "A man in a dark trenchcoat waves something in his hands just 'so' and a jet of fire shoots several meters... oh, right... several yards away, setting buildings and his enemies on fire. Just from that description, such as it is, can you tell me if the man in the trenchcoat is, in your local parlance, a Wizard or a Muggle?"
"A Wizard of course!" Draco scoffed.
Professor Sangnoir's smile nearly bisected his head. "No, this would be a Mundane with a flamethrower. Not an ounce of wand-waving or alchemy, just the pure abuse of natural physics..."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
Dark mutterings from the Slytherin side of the room accompanied confusion from the Gryffindor side.
"Well, think about it," Professor Sangnoir continued. "A man in a dark trenchcoat waves something in his hands just 'so' and a jet of fire shoots several meters... oh, right... several yards away, setting buildings and his enemies on fire. Just from that description, such as it is, can you tell me if the man in the trenchcoat is, in your local parlance, a Wizard or a Muggle?"
"A Wizard of course!" Draco scoffed.
Professor Sangnoir's smile nearly bisected his head. "No, this would be a Mundane with a flamethrower. Not an ounce of wand-waving or alchemy, just the pure abuse of natural physics..."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll