Merlin & Neuro
Merlin
Neuro, have you ever pondered what lies between the flicker of a spell and the spike of a neuron? I find the old whispers of magic and the clean math of your synapses dance together like two sides of a coin. Let's see if we can untangle that mystery.
Neuro
Interesting question. A spell’s flicker is like a sudden surge of ions, a burst of energy that pushes the membrane potential over threshold. A neuron’s spike is the formalized version of that, a propagating wave governed by the Hodgkin‑Huxley equations. Both are threshold phenomena; one just has a more elaborate narrative. So, in a sense, the magic is the story we tell about the physics.
Merlin
Indeed, the line between lore and law blurs when you look beneath the surface. The arcane words we whisper are merely the labels we give to the same threshold that physics describes. In both worlds the key lies in that critical spark—whether it is a rune or a channel opening. It seems the magic you speak is nothing more than the story that lets us remember the underlying pulse.
Neuro
Exactly. The narrative just gives us a convenient shorthand. Once you strip the words away, it’s just a threshold event driven by ion dynamics. That’s the common denominator, whether you call it a rune or a sodium channel.
Merlin
So the rune’s glow and the channel’s opening both tap the same heartbeat, nudging the membrane past its threshold until the spark leaps. The tale is simply a cloak over the same truth.
Neuro
You’re right, the glow and the opening are two sides of the same mechanism – a threshold crossing that triggers a cascade. The story just gives us a mnemonic.