The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most beloved fantasy stories of all time.  The magic of Middle-Earth, the longevity of the elves, the power of Gandalf, and the insidious Sauron are all staples in in pop culture.  But the term “magic” bothers some people, in particular Henry Gee, who believes that author J. R. R. Tolkien did not include ANY magic in his works at all.  In fact, the inexplicable things we see are in fact highly advanced bits of technology that are so integrated with nature that they seem like a part of it.  He explains how this works as we walk through his highly touted book “The Science of Middle Earth“, and discuss how elves are able to live so long, why Tolkien didn’t like gizmos, how the One Ring changes people, and how easy it is to create dragon breath (the fiery kind).

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