History Main / ScienceCannotComprehendPhlebotinum

* A key part to Tharan Cedrax's characterization in ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. He is a freelance scientist and gadgeteer, specializing in lost or obscure technology. Despite being personally fond of Jedi Council member Master Syo (and potentially just as fond of the Consular), he does ''not'' trust the Force, and gets annoyed when the Consular suggests using it to solve problems over mundane, practical solutions. He has an especially intense dislike of the JediMindTrick.

** It's explained in the same episode that magic in the general sense in My Little Pony is comprehensible by science, so most of the series [Avert|edTrope]s this. Pinkie Pie and her "sense" still plays this trope straight, as whatever she's doing is still a unique form of "magic" in the series itself.

** It's explained in the same episode that magic in the general sense in the series itself is comprehensible by science, so most of the series [Avert}edTrope]s this. Pinkie Pie and her "sense" still plays this trope straight, as she is decidedly magic as it is in our universe's equivalent in the series itself.

** It's explained in the same episode that magic in the general sense in the series itself is comprehensible by science, so most of the series {{Avert}}s this. The problem is that Pinkie Pie is actually magic as it is to our universe, in that it's decidedly not normal.

* One of the main sources of Tension and Drama in GeniusTheTransgression. All attempts for the Wonders to be analysis actually casues it to stop working and/or go haywire.
* Both played Straight and Averted in ''Shadowrun''. There are two main schools of thought when it comes to magic in the Sixth World. Shamanistic, which believes magic is an art that you feel rather than analysis. And Hermetic which believes that even Magic can be analysis to the smallest detail and can fit into a grand unified theory. Needless to say there are some tensions between the two schools of thought.

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a [[FantasticScience new branch of science]], but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong. Note that this concept RunsOnIgnorance. The actual definition of science is "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment". By definition, it only applies to things that are natural or physical. Should magic prove metaphysical or supernatural, it is, by definition, not science.

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a [[FantasticScience new branch of science]], but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong.

Sometimes, in order to establish how special or powerful something is, writers just take the easy way out and say that "science can't explain it!". It can be anything, from magic to ghosts to miracles to superpowers to whatever. One common tie-in statement is that it is made of no known chemical element.

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a [[FantasticScience new branch of science]], but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong. It can also be seen as a type of HandWave, depending on its use.

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a [[FantasticScience new branch of science]], but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong. It can also be seen as a HandWave if used for things not previously established as possible in a work.

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a [[FantasticScience new branch of science]], but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong. It can also be seen as a HandWave.

Sadly, when this is done wrong, it seems to imply that science is only for mundane things. It can also feel like an excuse to justify [[HandWave introducing elements, not previously established as possible in a work's universe, without any explanation]].

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a [[FantasticScience new branch of science]], but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong.

Sadly, when this is done wrong, it seems to imply that science is only for mundane things. It can also feel like an excuse to justify [[HandWave not having to explain things]] that weren't previously established as possible in a work.

Sadly, when this is done wrong, it seems to imply that science is only for mundane things. It can also feel like a lame excuse to [[AWizardDidIt justify illogical or unnatural things occurring]].

A note on the most common usage of this: even if magic does not work via our universe's physical laws, in many works [[MagicAIsMagicA it follows its own rules]] and therefore can be observed, experimented with and theorized about. It might require a new branch of science, but if it can be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic observed and experimented with]], then science can comprehend it. Sometimes magic will be [[SmugSnake a jerk]] and break patterns ''only'' when someone is actually looking for one, just to invoke this trope. If the scientists persist in offering "scientific" explanations that don't correctly explain the phlebotinum, then this idea has turned into the rather closely related idea that ScienceIsWrong.

Sometimes, in order to establish how special or powerful something is, writers just take the easy way out and say that "science can't explain it!". It can be anything, from [[AWizardDidIt magic]] to ghosts to miracles to superpowers to whatever. One common tie-in statement is that it is made of no known chemical element.

Sadly, when this is done wrong, it seems to imply that science is only for mundane things. It can also feel like a lame excuse to justify illogical or unnatural things occurring.

* The mysterious meteorite in Creator/HPLovecraft's ''The Colour Out of Space''.
** Well, they only had early 20th century science at their disposal, and the {{Phlebotinum}} they took for studying evaporated in a matter of days. Not having all the facts != "science can't do it" -- in fact, Lovecraft rarely clearly distinguishes between the "supernatural" on the one side and simple application of suitably exotic and occult, possibly even alien "science" to get results on the other in his work.

* Both played Straight and Averted in ''Shadowrun''. There are two main schools of thought when it comes to magic in the Sixth World. Shamanistic, which believes magic is an art that you feel rather then analysis. And Hermetic which believes that even Magic can be analysis to the smallest detail and can fit into a grand unified theory. Needless to say there are some tensions between the two schools of thought.

* FasterThanLightTravel in Creator/HarryTurtledove's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken_(short_story) The Road Not Taken]]. So much so that no race that discovers it ever invents anything afterwards, and so simple that most races discover it before inventing gunpowder. An invading force at about 18th century tech invades a 20th-Earth that never discovered FTL.

* The squeezer in ''Literature/RedThunder'' can't be duplicated by anyone other than it's inventor, despite being made from off the shelf parts. The perfectly hard, perfectly reflective bubbles it produces stymie any analysis they are exposed too.

** Not that it matters much, as they have the entirety of Asgard technology and more. The [[{{Precursors}} Ancients]] also had phasing technology, but only Janus was shown using it. Apparently, Ancient, Asgard, and Goa'uld technology is much easier to figure out than that.
*** Which is strange, as the Tollan are human, while the others are alien. You'd think we would have similar thought processes.

* Played with in ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves''. When material samples from inside the [[color:blue:house]] are analysed, the summary is that they're nothing out of the ordinary, chemically speaking. Oh, and by the way, that's a fascinating range you've got there. The oldest samples must have come from meteorites, because they're older than the solar system. Where did you say you found all these, Antarctica?
* DresdenFiles plays with this. Magic has a tendency to screw with any kind of mechanical and electrical devices, in particular anything made from WWII onwards, so most methods for documenting magic just don't work, despite Dresden's attempts to go public. None of this stops Butters from trying, and he makes some noticeable strides. Wizard longevity is (probably) due to a lack of telomere shortening, for instance.
** The metaphysical rules governing magic change over time, possibly even in response to human beliefs. For example, strong magic users used to cause flames to burn odd colors and milk to sour back before technology. This would make it ''very'' difficult to quantify how magic works under prevailing scientific paradigms, although not impossible if new ones could be developed for that purpose and magic's effect doesn't "catch up."
* The eponymous object in TheAccidentalTimeMachine is this for a very long time. Averted in that it is eventually figured out, once technology has progressed for a couple billion years.
* The squeezer in RedThunder can't be duplicated by anyone other than it's inventor, despite being made from off the shelf parts. The perfectly hard, perfectly reflective bubbles it produces stymie any analysis they are exposed too.
* In ''{{Sphere}}'', all the chaos erupts because of the scientists accidentally using the eponymous [[SufficientlyAdvanced alien device]] improperly. By the end of the story, [[spoiler: they never have figured out how to use it ''right ''or even what it's actually ''supposed ''to do, let alone ''how'' it did what it did.]]

* FasterThanLightTravel in HarryTurtledove's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken_(short_story) The Road Not Taken]]. So much so that no race that discovers it ever invents anything afterwards, and so simple that most races discover it before inventing gunpowder.
* Played with in ''HouseOfLeaves''. When material samples from inside the [[color:blue:house]] are analysed, the summary is that they're nothing out of the ordinary, chemically speaking. Oh, and by the way, that's a fascinating range you've got there. The oldest samples must have come from meteorites, because they're older than the solar system. Where did you say you found all these, Antarctica?

* In ''{{Sphere}}'', all the chaos erupts because of the scientists accidentally using the titular [[SufficientlyAdvanced alien device]] improperly. By the end of the story, [[spoiler: they never have figured out how to use it ''right ''or even what it's actually ''supposed ''to do, let alone ''how'' it did what it did.]]

* The title object in TheAccidentalTimeMachine is this for a very long time. Averted in that it is eventually figured out, once technology has progressed for a couple billion years.

* In ''TheHappening'', the mass genocide of humans by plants is described by Elliot Moore as something that just "happened", rather than the unprecedented biological phenomena that it actually was. The film goes further than this as the lead character is a science teacher that "teaches" that nature can not be explained by science and that any explanation given by the scientific community is only a "[[GravityIsOnlyATheory theory]]".
* Invoked in ''{{Primer}}'', where residue on solid evidence is taken in for some formal analysis and they discover it's Aspergillus Ticor: basically, fungus that accumulates everywhere. The device they built a few days ago was caking with the stuff and they had just been wiping it off every five days or so, unaware that [[spoiler:the amount they had wiped off up to this point would have required many years to accumulate to the level that it did]]. The scientist who identifies the fungus for them thinks this ''must'' be a bad joke.

* Want to scientifically analyse the world of ''TalesOfMU''? ''"Well, this is where a lot of the unique undead, cursed artifacts, and tainted lands come from. This is how magical abominations are created."''

* In ''TheHappening'', the mass genocide of humans by plants is described by Elliot Moore as something that just "happened", rather than the unprecedented biological phenomena that it actually was. The film goes further than this as the lead character is a science teacher that "teaches" that nature can not be explained by science and that anything explanation given by the scientist community is only a "[[GravityIsOnlyATheory theory]]".

* In ''TheHappening'', the mass genocide of humans by plants is described by Elliot Moore as something that just "happened", rather than the unprecedented biological phenomena that it actually was.