Fun Fact #420 Name Magic

 Fun Fact #420 (Halloween Fun Fact)

Name Magic 

From Lord of the Rings, to Game of Thrones, fictional Magic almost always involves the saying of names. This is called “Name Magic” and it became so popular because almost every major religion from 1,000 BC or before referenced it with questions like: “By whose name do you do this?”. However it's not magic, most of the time it's about Authority, so the previous question means “By whose Authority did you do this?”. In 1,000BC this commonly referenced gods or kings (which helped to give it that Mythological feel), but it's not limited to this. 

Anyone or anything with a name has a reputation, EX:  If you are known for being reliable, then people are more likely to trust you. However, if a member of your family is known for theft, this may harm how people see you –possibly without you even knowing. This also applies to larger groups such as, companies (Branding), countries or even whole regions. Think “In the Name of the Law” referencing the laws of a given country.

This is why countries have Anti-Defamation laws (Defamation means: Losing Face). Which can be further subdivided into Slander, Libel, and Calumny Charges (Speech, Writing, and Actions which harm reputation) which –similar to manslaughter– often don't require harmful intent for charges to be made. 

Fun Fact #585

Oaths and Promises

Oaths work off the name Magic system too, as all you're doing in an oath is saying that by someone else's authority you will do ... well whatever you said you were going to. This also inversely means that should you fail to do what you said, then the authority you refenced can do whatever it needs to, in order for the oath to be upheld or it risks losing respect (which is why its so hard to change or go back on). This is why both in Fiction and real life it was long advised never to take an oath, as it more often than not led to pain and suffering as if things changed to where you didn't wish to or couldn't uphold an oath, then the Authority would either punish you or be seen the lesser for it.

Today though this is somewhat forgotten as many fantasy stories make them "honorable" or similarly desirable --but still most ill advised. If you want the effect of an oath with the ability to go back should situations change, there is actually another way which to make them which was used by the Hebrews for most of their history. This was to simply say the following instead: "If ___ wills it, I will do ___(insert task here)____." Thus allowing the person to legally break an oath if the situation required it without harming the authority of that which they took an oath by--provided they get permission to do so. Meanwhile promises are like an oath but "Gentler" as they use the authority of the person making the oath and not a 3rd party --meaning if you break them it still harms you in the long run, but you're not going to force someone to hold you to account (except maybe those whom the promise was made to).

As always thanks for reading and please have a wonderful day.

Image from Harvard Business Review: (HBR.org)