The "motif" as folks tried to outline it in the dead Wikipedia article referred mostly to tales and mythology in which otherwise normal acts of observation resulted in extraordinary results. (The article had no sources so it was nuked, and I liked it despite the terrible name, which is why "harmful sensation" is on my google watch. I'm actually tickled pink whenever someone references it in a paper because it means it's one step closer to getting back into Wikipedia :D) The prime element in mythology and legend is supernatural. Arguably this applies to fictional advanced science, as per Clarke's third law it is indistinguishable from magic.... (read more)
The "motif" as folks tried to outline it in the dead Wikipedia article referred mostly to tales and mythology in which otherwise normal acts of observation resulted in extraordinary results. (The article had no sources so it was nuked, and I liked it despite the terrible name, which is why "harmful sensation" is on my google watch. I'm actually tickled pink whenever someone references it in a paper because it means it's one step closer to getting back into Wikipedia :D) The prime element in mythology and legend is supernatural. Arguably this applies to fictional advanced science, as per Clarke's third law it is indistinguishable from magic.... (read more)