In this blog post we would like to address the questions and comments received since the announcement of Mystical Moon. Please realize that we are a “Mystery Team” and, as such, all names including the team name, leader, craft name and signatories to the team blog posts are all aliases. Thereby, the craft’s name is not 'Black Magic'. However, in all fairness, we promised to address your questions and comments to help you better understand our team’s vision, mission and objectives (and so we shall).

First, as initially announced, we are a team whose primary membership and focus is the youth of the world. One of our primary objectives (besides winning the GLXP) is the participation and education of the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. As such, we are very dedicated to the mentorship of grade school students and thereby maintain a very high level of responsibility as role models. Furthermore, the real name of the craft(s) will be determined by the designers (students) and their sponsors.

Next we would like to address why we chose the alias name “Black Magic” for the craft. It is a play on the word “craft” coupled with the fact that Merlin is a legendary figure in Arthurian literature that is best known as a ‘wizard’. Merlin is an ancient wizard or sorcerer of mystical magic who advised King Arthur. It is written that Merlin practiced the art or “craft” of black magic. In the early Christian era, the term “black magic” was applied to any magician or wizard whose unknown powers could not be explained by the “science” of the day. However, in Western popular culture, and in Western children's literature in particular, the sorcerer often assumes a positive guise. We see this today in the tremendously popular Harry Potter children's series. Today children have a keen sense that "black magic" can be both good and bad depending on how it is used (as exemplified by Harry). It is also prudent to note that many scenes in the Harry Potter movies are ‘scary’ and include ‘wicked’ wizards too. Throughout the generations we were all introduced to this concept of ‘good and bad’ as children. After all, many of us were introduced to the concept of good and bad witches in the "Wizard of OZ" (a classic watched globally by children spanning several generations).

The origin and history of the word ‘wizard’ (meaning “wise or sage philosopher”) is associated with the etymology of the words for “magic”, “sorcerer” and “witch”. All of these words were derived from the Latin verbs “zinoti” meaning “to know” and “zintet” meaning “to foretell”. The sense is, perhaps, “to know the future”. The meaning “one with magical power” did not emerge until the Middle Ages when the distinction between philosophy and magic became blurred. From the 1500's to the1700's, belief in magic continued to spread around the world. Even the highly educated people (noble scientists of the time) believed in its power. For example, Sir Isaac Newton studied alchemy; a pseudoscientific predecessor of chemistry that sought a method of transmuting base metals into gold, an elixir to prolong life indefinitely, a panacea or universal remedy, and an alkahest or universal solvent. As science became more prevalent (after the 1600s), magic was proven to be just "magic" and the scientific method / evidence took over. Hence, a wizard is said to be a person who practices magic or a person who is outstandingly clever in some specified field; an expert. Today we refer to such a person of amazing skill or accomplishment as “a wizard of chemistry” or “whiz”.

“Magic” is defined as any extraordinary or mystical influence, charm or power while the word “Black” is defined as the lack of brightness characterized by the absence of light. Black is the most misunderstood color. In fact, strictly speaking, black is not a color at all but rather the absence of all color. Scientifically, black absorbs all aspects of light while white reflects nearly all the rays of sunlight. Therefore, it is said that white reveals and black conceals. Yes, black has come to take on a secondary meaning of hidden or fearful threat but that is because it is linked to the unknown or the unseen. In times of fear and uncertainty black contains the energy of the threatening unknown. However, in a positive state, black is seen as a restful emptiness into which anything may emerge and disappear once again. Black is also mysterious, providing a sense of potential and possibility. Some globally recognized connotations of the word “black” are:

• to become inconspicuous (hidden)
• to open the door to mystery (enlightenment)
• to prepare for the unknown (adventurous journey)
• a restful emptiness (like space)

This is our embodiment of the term “black”. We intend to “open the door to the mystery of the unknown" through education. We intend to take an "adventurous journey to enlightenment”. We intend to mentor the youth of today by teaching them that science ‘reveals’ through knowledge; that technology is the innovation created by that knowledge and that engineering and mathematics are tools to accomplish any vision or mission – NO “magic” needed!

In closing, we wish to share with you another recent media event capitalizing on the theme of “mystical power”. The incredibly popular Super Bowl Volkswagen commercial titled “The Force”. In this advertisement, a little Darth Vader (dressed entirely in black), tries to apply ‘the force’ of an unknown mystical power. Not a single word is spoken throughout the entire commercial yet it is universally understood by all ages. Here is the video if you have not seen it yet:

The conclusion is most fitting. The child is shocked when the car starts because he does not have the knowledge to understand how that happened. He therefore concludes (ignorantly) that he possess this unknown magical power called “The Force”. Of course, reality is that the causation of the “mystery” is an automotive engineering application of an innovative communication technology. This is a valuable lesson that we intend to bring to today’s youth. It does not take “Magic” to get to the Moon – it takes the knowledge of Science, the innovation of Technology and the application of the principles of Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). So, study hard!

And, here is the follow-on video “The Making of 'The Force' Commercial" for your enjoyment:

As a bonus, for those of you who cannot get enough of this tiny Darth Vader, there is also an “Alternate Extended Version”:

We hope that this blog post addressed your questions and comments while also sharing some important information about the team’s vision. We continue to welcome your questions, comments and concerns and look forward to providing you insightful responses. Please feel free to contact us at magic@kelvin.net.

Best Regards,
Mystical Moon

PS In the future we will discuss a “black art” that exists in today’s aerospace engineering disciplines.