u/soniku1

Context: I was theory crafting with a friend if "nuclear" magecraft would be possible and realized I lack an understanding of how Mystery actually works. A few friends were working on theoretical mages and I wanted to make sure I was properly understanding things as much as they do.

My current understanding of Mystery is:

1. Mystery is based on the collective belief of humanity
2. Science degrades Mystery when it proves old beliefs wrong and not because Science explained the process.

I believe my core misunderstanding is number 2, but even then, I might be wrong there.

So, my current questions are the following:

1. Can one base their magecraft on Science or are they completely incompatible?
2. Is mystery the only way to use mana for magecraft like abilities? As in, can one make a scientific equivalent to a Mystic Code for example?

TL;DR: How does Mystery work and can there be magecraft that doesn't use Mystery as it's basis, or would that be science?