I agree that the methodology is somewhat suspect to say the least, but I also think that the impulse that leads folk to try and practice magic is more or less t

I agree that the methodology is somewhat suspect to say the least, but I also think that the impulse that leads folk to try and practice magic is more or less the same as the impulse that leads them to try and study science and which route you take is more often than not an accident of culture. There are many examples other than Newton of scientists who were heavily involved in trying to do magic. Go look up the founder of the JPL and noted Thelemite occultist Jack Parsons, for instance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Parsons_%28rocket_engineer%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Parsons_%28rocket_engineer...