On the Nature of Magic

I have been reading with interest Damien Walter's Guardian article entitled 'Why English culture is bewitched by magic'. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/feb/23/english-culture-magic-merlin-harry-potter
      If I might take the liberty of summarising the resulting debate, Damien suggests England is more into magic than other places, and the commenters largely disagree, citing Scotland, Wales, Germany, USA and Haiti as more deeply  into it.
      At one point he states 'magic is essentially a metaphor for power'. Yet this is an over-simplification. The conventional sources of power are outwith the realm of magic. The world is ruled by force, wealth, and persuasion. Nothing magical there. Magic is miraculous power.
      Why is the public so fascinated by miraculous power? I think this becomes clear when we examine the other movies people flock to see. Cop shows and violent action thrillers, where the hero miraculously survives blizzards of bullets and bombs, while the baddies are mown down like wheat. These movies are equally as magical as Harry Potter, but in a different way. They show a person, often isolated and abandoned, going up against enormously powerful malign forces and prevailing against impossible odds, as though his heroism and virtue endowed him with a spell of invulnerability. This is actually a kind of parable that is intentionally being retold over and over, even though its authors must know it lacks plot credibility.
       Ordinary people feel powerless, and fantastic stories enable them to escape from those feelings briefly.
       Whether they achieve that by vicarious means at the cinema, or by joining a witches coven and prancing around in the woods, is a matter of taste.
        Does magic really exist? We would like to think that it does, and we might someday get our hands on magic powers. What kind of world would we live in if magic powers became commonplace? What if an angry neighbour could make us sick by casting a spell in the privacy of his own home? Perhaps we should count our blessings, and be grateful for the regularities of Natural Law.
        Do modern people really believe in magic? I saw some young Christians being interviewed  on TV a few years ago, and they seemed to believe that if they prayed for something God would give it to them. This magical ritual is quite different from prayer as interpreted by many other religious believers, who see it as a form of thanksgiving, a way of trying to become closer to God, of bringing their lives into alignment with His will. Yet some believe that prayers of supplication will be successful.
       Many people seem to believe in Luck. The word luck has two directly opposed meanings. One is as a synonym for random chance. The other is as a magical personal quality which people are born with, and which enables them to defeat the laws of probability. Sometimes this belief is accompanied by a magical ritual, such as carrying a good luck charm, but often this is thought unnecessary, the magic power is 'built-in'. I met a young man some years ago who had worked as a croupier in a casino. Even he believed he was born lucky, though you would have thought the casino experience would have disillusioned him. He worked in a successful Asian family shop, and was later replaced by the boss's girlfriend. The shop declined, and he concluded that its success had been due to his Luck, rather than thinking the girlfriend might have driven customers away through poor service, or that a rival shop might have opened.
       Studies into habitual gamblers show that they typically do not have an accurate assessment of their success. Those who think they are winners are usually only breaking even, while those who think they break even are usually suffering small but steady losses. They remember their winners better than their losers, allowing them to continue to believe in their luck.
       A scientific experiment was recently performed into belief in luck, and reported on the BBC website. Volunteers were told the experiment was being performed in another building, and given directions to walk to it. A £20 note had been planted on the pavement they were to use. Those who believed they were naturally lucky turned out to be three times more likely to see and pick up the money, compared with those who believed they were unlucky! The scientists concluded that people who believe in their luck are more alert to opportunity, and braver at taking advantage of it.
       This suggests it is a completely irrational magical idea which may nonetheless carry a biological advantage. 
       Is it possible that there could be a gene for this belief? If so it could be selected for by evolution. Such a gene might have all sorts of other related effects of inducing irrational beliefs whose disadvantages could be outweighed by the benefits of belief in one's own luck. Such as belief in the efficacy of magic spells.
       This idea reminds me of John Corrie, MP, formerly the Member for North Ayrshire where I used to live. He repeatedly told the local newspaper that he possessed psychic powers. He claimed to be able to predict the future, and made a series of inaccurate forecasts. He also claimed that he had an unusually high level of bodily electricity, and could draw sparks from his knuckles. He seemed an obvious lunatic, yet he clung to political office for many years. Could the benefits of his exaggerated belief in his own powers have outweighed his eccentricity and propelled him up the political ladder? Political leaders have often damaged their countries through gross overoptimism, such as Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union.
       There is no guarantee that evolution will always favour reason over unreason, unfortunately.