"Rules Treat Science Like Magic" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

…do we treat advanced science like it is magic?

45% said "yes, science is treated like magic"
33% said "no, science is not treated like magic"

Probably because most folks don't understand advanced science, maybe.

Pretty much all Victorian Science Fiction rules (mine included) feature "technology" that is either ludicrously underpowered or could not possibly function without microcircuitry. But by the magical rule of cool, we disregard the boring scientific truth and happily hurtle forward in our steam-powered mechanical marvels.

What counts as _advanced_ science?

String theory, flux capacitors, warp drives (both the real ones and the Trekky ones), microwave pain cannons, etc. Anything that the average working guy can't figure out with a hammer and a book.

Transporters, telepathy helmets, tactile holography, FTL anything, laser pistols/rifles (etc.), power armor, extraterrestrial anything, true AI (as opposed to glorified search engines), etc..

But for that matter, a game will treat almost anything as just "something that works" without getting into any of the details of how or why it works. This becomes exceedingly true the further out the "zoom lens" on the genre/scenario the players are. If you're operating on a 1 to 1 combat it can be very important how a semi-automatic rifle works and why it might not. If you're at the Company Commander level or higher, then most likely the men's rifles just work without any issues (gun jams, low on ammo, damaged sights, etc. are ignored).
So even perfectly mundane technology can be treated by a game as essentially magical in its function if the level of detail is "grand" enough.