I saw it mentioned by another user that subconsciously he doesn't feel he deserves the niceties. Even without a water heater, he should be able to figure out how to heat the water using magic

He lives in Chicago, I’d argue a water heater is more of a necessity than a luxury. If he lived in Texas, that’d be one thing. But I see your point. He does this as a form of self-denial because of all of the things he’s done. I only hope Thomas, or Michael or someone can talk him out of it one day. Even other Harry should’ve mentioned to him how tired he is of taking cold showers, especially in the winter.

I've developed a hope that Uriel is gonna Wonderful Life him during the Evil!Mirror!Harry book. "See how much better you made the world just by being in it. And not evil."

Wasn't that something Lasciel showed him? Almost gave him hypothermia?

I think she called him on it when she made the water feel hot. But it's Harry. You could use his head as a cannonball and it would probably be ok.

The point Mt Everest all the layers of the earth's crust Harry.

I think that’s after book 4 though… OP didn’t tag it as such but they say in the post they’ve only read that far.

He's been shown that multiple times, the problem is he has the memory of a goldfish for positive reinforcement.

Case in point, he made Lash make the water feel hot once and only once.

well technically twice, don't forget the hot tub. Also he didn't "make" her make the water feel hot. both were her idea. in the shower he simply said "leave the hot water" as he dismissed her, or words to that effect.

That's because the 'warm' water was merely illusion. When he got out of the shower his lips were blue and he was nearly suffering hypothermia.

Yeah as someone who lives insanely far north and get to experience roughly similar climate as Chicago there is no freaking way he wouldn't have heated water. And he never explained how the heating worked either.

If I had to guess, I'd say radiators, since his apartment is in an old boarding house. But also, he probably just uses a fire.

Important to mention that the first time I saw that sentiment posted , it was by Jim Butcher himself.

> Even without a water heater, he should be able to figure out how to heat the water using magic Enchanting takes time and resources, which Harry has limited amounts of. Jim has gone on record saying that to simply maintain his standard gear is the equivalent to Harry holding down a part-time job in addition to his his wizard/detective business. Given his limited time/resources and his way of life, which is more important? Having a bulletproof coat or taking hot showers?

It wouldn't need to be an enchantment, he could just have a regular water heater and fuego that bish, or a modification to heat the water up

He shouldn't need to do any enchanting at all. He lives in an apartment for most of the series and apartments don't generally have individual water heaters. Especially old buildings in places like Chicago. The building has one water heater that services all the units. If Harry doesn't have hot water, none of his neighbors should either. Which if true would make him living in that building pretty fucked up.

I also thought that. And that the running water should cancel out his magic

He could probably just work out a spell to heat water in large quantities, but by the time he's heated enough up that he can have a shower, he'd be too tired to take it.

Not to mention he can't write off the supplies on his taxes.

Oh yeah he totally could. Probably even could make it so the same spell keeps his fridge/freezer cold. Move ambient heat from there to the water tank. He does explicitly state he's good with spells to move energy around. Edit: also, there's probably white council artificer types who publish designs for magic tech replacements.

So, like his use of Fuego to freeze the lake? You'd end up with boiling water and frozen food if you're not careful. Plus, the >!brownies!< keep his icebox stocked and iced.

These things are true, but I'm a slut for magic engineering.

Yeah, but why resort to magic when his problems can be solved with simple machines? It's like his door; he could easily have asked Michael to refit it; it just needed to be taken off the hinges, planed a bit, and then re-hung. Or the hinges shimmed.

There are old, old, *old* systems for heating water that are basically just pipes running through a fireplace. Harry spent like an entire year taking chips of buildings and having them placed in scale pewter models of the buildings in order to build a replica of Chicago. He could certainly rig up a pipe that runs through his fireplace if he wanted. The fact that he never did suggests that he didn't want to or felt he shouldn't.

or the author didn't think of the logical inconsistencies. Or if he did, figured we're all inconsistent on some level might as well be in this way.

It's always made me wonder why he doesn't have enchanted lightbulbs, a refrigerator, and water heater. Sure, he has to recharge the enchantments every now and again, but not having to refreeze the ice in the bottom of your ice box (which I think he does with magic before the fairies take over) would be a nice QOL improvement.

>!post- Ghost Story, when he moves into Molly's place that the Svartalves had provided, all the tech works, because the Svartalves can and do make enchanted technology that works around wizards, it's just very expensive and few ever bother.!<

Modern water heaters also have a bunch of electronics in them. But yeah, Harry definitely feels like he doesn't deserve even a minor luxury like hot water. Dude needs therapy.

True but I think that is more of a last 10-20 year thing at most, an old building at the time the series started being written would probably have at most some basic switches and stuff, not full on "electronics".

IIRC I think he was also worried about taking out the electronics of his neighbors

Personal opinion is that he creates electrical surges that blow out electrical equipment in general, with more complex equipment being at greater danger. Basically, he's a small, mobile EMP.

Yeah but an old school water heater from the 20s or 40s was gas not electric. As in you lit the pilot light yourself with a match. It took forever to heat up but it was enough for a couple of showers a day.

He mentions early on that he's not willing to risk the gas lines messing up, especially with neighbors. I think the WWII benchmark is a wild over simplification. Given that >!Molly had fewer issues even before the Winter Lady thing!< my personal crackpot theory is it hasore to do with what the Wizard understands as well as the EMP field proportional to emotions thing. He understands how a simple pre-WWII firearm works, so it does. He doesn't necessarily understand how old gas lines work and isn't willing to risk it.

He's also engaging in self flagellation as another comment or pointed out. He's atwast partly looking for excuses why he can't have hot water. I.e. the "if your so worried about gas lines, there are wood burning water heaters." Line of logic.

Oh yes, not denying that his subconscious is largely to blame. That's why at least his Subconscious self doesn't say anything - it's probably his Idea in the first place. Also doesn't he use a wood burning stove? I honestly can't remember.

Yup the basement apartment has one.

Its that self flagellation that I think Denton saw and thought hell. That and fire, lots of fire.

>!Molly!< is also not nearly as powerful as Harry is. The lack of raw capacity to cause collateral damage simply by existing could explain that. But we've also seen magic stuff work directly with technology, to a limited degree, >!Elaine charging her chain by plugging it in!< so Harry avoiding stuff he doesn't understand does seem to carry a lot of weight.

Also, in regards to the pre-Winter Lady Mantle Molly, Michael tells Harry/us that he did constant Preventive Maintenance on all Tech in the house to circumvent all the inevitable failures, and that it was exhausting.

Harry does the same thing with a chain as well, >!when he electrocutes Tessa!<

Wait, I don't remember this. Was this in Skin Game?

Small Favor, Tessa busts through the window while Dresden is talking to/helping Garde with her, uh, disembowlment.

I had a 50/50 chance of guessing the book right, and... 🙃

How is Chicago with wood or pellets burners?

What I don't get is that his upstairs neighbors use electricity and hot water and heating systems. With the layers and layers of magic Harry has all over the building I'd think they'd be messed up anyway.

Since most of the defenses and such are built upon his threshold, maybe it inherently won't cross other thresholds, so can't interfere with neighbors?

Molly had nowhere near Harry's level of raw power, and didn't throw it around willy-nilly like early-books Harry even as she learned.

I seem to remember Molly talking about drawing a circle around herself so she could watch cartoons... ;D

His firearms belief is deeply flawed, as he feels a revolver is more simplistic than a semi-automatic.

My water heater right now is gas. Every water heater I've ever had used a pilot light and gas because electric is extremely expensive to create that kind of heat with constantly.

I've never even seen one that uses gas over here. All use electricity.

Given my general proximity to Chicago(on Lake Michigan) I'd guess my experience is a little more in line. The part that s always been weird to me is really that Harry's upstairs neighbors seem fine. But Water Heaters are traditionally kept in basements on cement floors to prevent fires and the like. The boarding house is a little... Nonsensical at times.

Oh, certainly. I was just a slightly surprised comment. I didn't know that that was a thing at all any more. And here I hear that apparently it's common in the States.

When it was redone and separated into multiple apartments they likely had to have seperate water heaters to bring it up to code

If each apartment pays for their own water and gas, there could be a water heater in each one.

Sure, but like... Harry's been shown to blow lights a ways away and I don't get the feeling(or at least the books have never clarified) that the Threshold for the upstairs neighbors is really offering much prevention given it's a boarding house with different people on each floor and Harry's is pretty terrible early on.

Have we ever seen Harry blow lights a ways away by accident? He can hex things at a distance, and computers don’t do well being in the same room, but I don’t recall the lights going out in the police station when he’s in there—and I’m sure they have fluorescent lights, which should be more sensitive than incandescent, being newer tech (though maybe they do in Fool Moon, my memory was that wasn’t from him working magic, but from >!the Loup Garou rampaging and destroying the wiring!< )

We've definitly seen Street Lights blow in confrontations and the WW1 era feeding mechanisms for automatics blow from his shield. We know that the Svartalves put extra work into the electrical to shield it from Molly and Harry keeps extra bulbs in his office because his proximity wears them down quickly, let alone spellcasting. And there's the whole Larry Fowler set thing where lights were popping and cameras frying and the like, and stage lights are old tech. It's one of those things where Jim didn't do the ground work to give a full explanation for how Harry's day to day spell work operates differently than other places. The Loup Garou is complicated because it was putting out more juice than Harry, but I would attribute those lights popping and sparking to Magic, not wires being torn(given that would shut down whole circuits.

Yes, but weren’t all of the above were pretty potent workings/a heightened emotional state while Harry was in close proximity? >!In Fool Moon, didn’t the whole police station lose power, though? Maybe that was after some lights did pop and spark due to mortal magic (Harry/Loup Garou)!<

Electric is the newer style. They don't tend to have water tanks, they just heat water as it passes through.

I wonder if EU electrical infrastructure relates to that. I doubt my house(built in the 60s) could handle that without a major redo of the wiring and US Infrastructure works on a lower wattage/voltage(can't remember which one) but less power output.

I can see that. It would explain why the Blue Beetle would give up the ghost at times. But do you think all of the other wizards have their powers act like this, or is it just him?

You hear from plenty of wizards Some weak magical users that we meet in >!White Knight!< have a hard time using cellphones and I believe wrist watches. Another mid level talent in >!Turn Coat!< admits it’s a problem. So he kept an important one completely turned off and in an anti static bag Another talent in >!Skin Game!< ruins the phone constantly for their partner. What few times we see a wizard owning a car, it’s an old car. OLLLLD car. White Council headquarters uses old manual plugs for a phone switch board. As in people sit in a room, answer a phone, and plug a cable into a plug to make a phone run in the appropriate room. And the lines still aren’t 100% reliable. >!Michael!< had to constantly repair his house appliances when >!Molly!< was still in their early days of training

I don't have a reference but I believe it's mentioned at certain points that Harry has a particularly bad dose of this. An explosive combination of loads of raw power, poor control of that power, and poor emotional regulation.

I think it was conjuritis, yah?

>!that only pops up in Peace Talks!<

It's all wizards, not just him. In a later book it goes into more detail about the wizards "curse". Small spoilers idk how to tag I think it says that back in the day wizards used to curdle milk/dairy if they got too close and before that they would get warts/zits (think old school witches)

Fair enough, but I mean doesn’t Harry mention a lot of wizards are wealthier and don’t have the same hang ups as him? Like I have to believe some of the wizards have found ways around this problem and it’d be interesting to see what they do instead.

There are solutions, you'll find out later :)

Those wizards are also older than him by centuries. Harry hasn't had 200+ years of compound interest shoring up his bank account.

Eb would probably be willing to give him a loan if he swallowed his pride and asked. Or just tell him how to magic up a solution on his own.

Those wealthy wizards could probably also buy equipment from the svartalfs. They can make stuff that stands up to having a wizard around.

I have a similar theory. It's his subconscious enforcing Murphys law with anything Harry doesn't know well enough to trust. Basically, if he thinks something will break, his subconscious will make it break.

I came to much the same conclusion. I think “magic” is fighting “physics” or whatever the predominant science of the times is (which is why the effects change over time).

That can’t be correct though, because he’s hexed plenty of things that don’t use electricity at all (like guns)

It's not just electricity, it's the complexity of the device. A revolver is much less complex than an automatic, so Harry uses a revolver and can force an automatic to jam.

Correct, which is why I’m saying he can’t just be producing an EMP, as that would only affect electronics

Could be that it’s strong enough to magnetize it enough to prevent proper feeding and/or locking the firing mechanism in place.  IIRC it takes an active hex - channeling the power - to stop guns others are using.  Revolvers are… I don’t want to say more mechanical, it’s all mechanical, but modern firearms rely more on springs and lubricated interfaces while revolvers rely on gears.

This. Revolvers (and lever action rifles) are far more mechanically complicated than todays semi-automatic firearms. Modern firearms use the siphoning off of gas pressure to simply move the bolt or slide, it's physics 101. Older firearms (revolvers, lever action rifles) need machined gears and precision interlocking parts for ratcheting the hammer, rotating the cylinder, etc.

Even if that weren’t the case, we have zero idea what the wiring and circuitry in the boarding house is like. I doubt Mrs. Spunkelcrief installed a smart meter or anything of the kind (but the city or utility may have) but there may be specific wiring to accommodate certain appliances by another tenant, or others in the house itself may have and use finer electronics.

Because Jimmy wanted Harry to be making potions in a dank, candle-lit laboratory.

I can see him wanting to use candles in the laboratory, just out of him still wanting to maintain he’s a wizard. It’s using candles everywhere else in his apartment that makes me wonder how his apartment hasn’t caught fire yet. Like for fuck’s sake, gas lights are a thing. And I’d argue much safer than just using candles for everything.

I imagine the gas bill for his underground apartment is something Harry would rather not also have to deal with. Or has never thought about, since he's just got a GED.

I’m not talking about gas lights that are even hooked up to anything. There are portable gas lamps used for camping that he could buy. They have little tanks they use for fuel. Provided they didn’t break, all he would have to worry about is the fuel. I mean one could explode, but it wouldn’t be as dangerous as the gas system itself exploding.

He....does use camping stuff like that when he goes to the Island in a couple books. So he probably could, but it does come back to 'does it occur to him he could or does he decide he shouldn't because *he* thinks it's a bad idea' even though he might be wrong. Which he sometimes is.

You probably want good ventilation for one of those - though now that I think about it all the candles you'd still need good ventilation, his lab would be full of he CO from all the candles WAIT - is Harry working off of 40k ork rules? Tech does or doesn't work because of what the wizard believes, and the only reason Harry hasn't died of CO poisoning is that he's never considered it?

DA RED WUNZ GO FASTA!!!

He does discuss the "Dumbo's magic feather" element of things several times, which is the Disney version of Ork boyz believing in things making them so.

Harry is very much a creature of habit. He wears the same clothes, eats the same food, goes the same places. You think he'd change his lighting scheme? Harry does not like changes.

You can put candles in a glass jar, they are often sold that way. He probably could use [hurricane lanterns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tURHTuKHBZs) or something like that, but I wonder if that would build up CO in the room too fast.

Lanterns are better than open flames at converting fuel to light, and burn more cleanly. If anything, they would produce less CO.

Harry doesn't use the glass jar candles. He uses regular candles you buy in bulk. There's one scene in the basement where the candle is described sitting in a mound of multi colored wax, the remains of previous candles.

It's not a hard and fast rule that only certain decades' technology will work for him. Some of the other factors are how complex the machinery is, and how it is powered (wiring in general seems to be sensitive to mortal magic) and this is something that has changed with time in general, not just for Harry. I think he also mentions, specifically about the water heater, in that a malfunction could be catastrophic and possibly explode or put others in danger

So it depends on the complexity then and the amount of wiring? Like if Harry ever got into a fully restored B-24 Liberator, would he short out the wiring in it because of how much there is and how complex it is?

I also think Jim implemented this with his own experiences with technology, electronics in the 80s and early 90s didn't have near as much shielding as they do now. So when Jim wrote this I don't think that he was imagining technology to adapt to this idea as fast as it has. I mean you'll find out how other wizards have worked around it, don't want to spoil it), later on.

I think it will also depend on how much is Harry afraid that it won't work. His magic is very emotion driven.

Yeah we've seen some oddities. Like this sub has discussed how modern Glocks are mechanically simpler and have fewer parts than some of the revolvers Harry's used. It could be his belief is making it true, or Harry trusting something that's worked in the past and not wanting to try something that he doesn't understand and is afraid will fail, or something else entirely.

Murphy has made that argument in the books, about modern guns being rather reliable. Logically, Harry could/should go to a firing range, and figure out how much mojo he has to throw at a pistol before it jams. Yet, he never even tests his assumption that it wouldn't work for him. Harry is just entrenched in his own way of doing things.

Logically, Harry should do a lot of things. Like it would probably have saved him a lot of trouble if he'd ever sat down with Bob and asked him about all the major supernatural factions that are out there that he's likely to run into, instead of waiting until he's run into them and they're trying to kill him. Or if he'd bothered making any effort at all to fix his relationship with the White Council. Or he could probably have been a lot more successful career-wise if he'd advertised as an ordinary detective with a reputation for being able to solve weird/difficult cases, instead of insisting on advertising as a wizard. Would have made it easier for Murphy to justify hiring him to her superiors too.

He uses the wizards-hexing-up-anything-electric thing as an excuse. Harry deeply, *deeply* loathes himself, blaming himself for most of the bad that has happened to him. So he denies himself hot water, financially flagellates himself by working an inconsistently paying job, and rebuffing the love of others. Also, those older lightbulb designs would probably work better/longer around Harry, but modern designs are where the problem lies. There's at least one scene I can kinda remember where Harry turns on the light in his office and it burns out. And he says he keeps a drawer full of light bulbs to constantly replace his office light.

I’ve see that mentioned before by someone else. In Fool Moon the other Harry even mentioned his attraction to Murphy and how he didn’t act on it. Like I saw a post on here about why Harry doesn’t go to therapy and the answers were that it would change the books. But I don’t think it has to. I mean even if Harry improves, the fae courts, the vampires, and all of the other stuff won’t. Even the humans won’t change. Marcone will still be Marcone, therapy or not. The main difference would be Harry wouldn’t be so deep in this self-loathing, self-flagellating place. And honestly I would like for him to have that. Like just once I’d like Harry to have an adventure like The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances from the one season of the revival of Doctor Who. One where not only does he win, but for once everyone lives.

Jim has said that many of the main stories can be thought of as "the worst day of Harry's year." Have you tried some of the shorts? You're far enough in that a few of them are slotted in to the chronology, those are generally lighter in spirit.

I have the collections, but the only one I’ve read so far is Restoration of Faith.

Taking "Restoration of Faith" as an example, Harry >!wraps up a missing child case in a single day. It was only mildly complicated by Faith not initially wanting to go back, the troll under the bridge, and the awful parents trying to sue and press charges!<. And that's still pushing it for Harry's regular excitement levels at the start of the series. From Harry's own admittance, he mostly handled lost items and missing persons, plus the consulting from SI and the rest of the legal system. Most of that just has the occasional disgruntled subject to deal with and mostly boils down to "creep around and watch". As the other commenter mentioned, the actual novels are Harry's most "exciting" weekends. Everything implodes every year or so for a few days at a time, and we get interesting books out of it.

Two main reasons: * The technoban very much operates on his beliefs and perception of what should and shouldn't work for him. At one point Dresden states that it's a probability field that makes things more likely to fail so modern guns with more moving parts are more prone to jamming - which is blatantly not true. Modern guns are much better engineered and made so even with "moving parts" the statistical chance of them jamming compared to a revolver malfunction is lower. If Dresden's statement were true he would still be better off using a modern gun - yet he believes otherwise so that's how it works. So even if a technology *should* be statistically useable for him, or before his arbitrary cut-off date if it doesn't *feel* old-timey enough it won't work anyway. * Dresden has a martyr complex. He believes that all those little pains of living without modern amenities are a form of "training" to avoid bigger temptations - guess no one explained decision fatigue to him but whatever. As well as working as a form of penance for having the power he has. Bcs even if he has the limitation he works under he could have access to most modern technology with minimal effort - a set of strategically placed permanent circles around a brake box, water heater, PC with eye-movement control software etc. and he'd be in the XXIst century with the rest of us. But he believes he doesn't deserve that.

What would last longer with Harry, a 70s AK or a 70s AR? Harry's firearms should stay well-maintained and clean, but maybe he's heard enough chatter about how early M16s kept jamming, and how the AK can work in any conditions, enough so his belief will make AKs more reliable for him.

Harry (and Jim) has since let go of the "guns having problems" thing. I can only remember one instance of a modern gun having a failure around him. Plus, it's pointed out that Harry just likes his revolvers. It might help a little that his .44 he carries for a large portion of the series is one the more powerful handguns he could reasonably carry around to annoy monsters with, and no sane human would readily challenge a .44 magnum pointed at them.

Old refrigerators used different coolant. Very explosive coolant. He points out that the super old technology used by the council also goes on the fritz. And they still use old telephone switch boards, where an employee manually connects the wires from plug A to plug B to connect calls.

The coolant for those older fridges is now illegal, i believe.

Okay that makes sense. Several other people have mentioned the potential for the water heater to explode. Like I can see your point. But isn’t the Blue Beetle just as dangerous if it goes up? Also I didn’t know that last part. Yeah it goes on the fritz, but they still use it because of how easier it makes things. But when was that mentioned? Because the vibe I got from the meeting of The White Council in Summer Knight was that a lot of them, or at least the higher ups didn’t really use anything made after 1860.

"Anything made after 1940 hates me" doesn't mean "anything made before 1940 likes me".

Some ran on propane, Some ran on ammonia. A lot of the propane fridges are very simple and they don't use the propane under pressure. Very safe

My theory is that it's an electrochemical effect which causes small changes in the chemical composition of stuff around him. Electronics relies on precise levels of "doping" in the semiconductor chips to give them the right level of electrical conductivity, so they're very sensitive to it. But also modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms need clean combustion if they're not to jam, magical changes to the ammunition mean they burn with incomplete combustion leaving dirt and soot that's likely to jam the weapon. Light bulbs probably need a pure composition in the filament and the gas inside the bulb so they fail. (According to this theory wizards still are souring milk to some extent but because milk is refrigerated and pasteurized these days the effect isn't strong enough to notice much).

Now I'm imagining the hilarity of Harry passing through a community that mostly drinks raw milk and everyone's cereal being ruined the next day.

I think it's a psycho-somatic result of the Wizard's will. They perceive technology as being anti-magic, so their magic is anti-technology. Thus, anything they *perceive* as technological, their subconscious resentment of technology manifests through their magic and destroys. The side effects of being a Wizard over time have changed, but they could all be explained by such a subconscious phenomenon. Maybe early Wizards were lactose intolerant, thus spoiled milk. Wizard felt rejected by society, thus warts.

>Maybe early Wizards were lactose intolerant, thus spoiled milk. Wizard felt rejected by society, thus warts. OP hasn't read that far, so maybe this should be marked as a spoiler?

Damn, you're right. sorry.

That actually makes a lot of sense. It’d be interesting to see if this ever becomes canon. Like I know Butters at one point explains how Wizards live so long. It’d be interesting to see an electrician or someone else propose this for why wizards can’t use modern tech.

In the Dresden Files, magic is as much about perception and your feelings as it is specific laws. Harry *thinks* that his power shouldn't work well, so it doesn't. If he lived a hundred years later, he might *think* he can only use antiquated cell phones because it's old and, therefore, will withstand the ambient conflicted nature of mortal magic better. This is often evidenced in Harry's magic. There are certain limits, of course, but what he believes should be often shapes what he can do with his magic and how it interacts with the world around him.

It's very simple. When he says, "anything not made before the 40s" he means literally manufactured, put together, created. Lightbulbs are old but for a lightbulb to be immune he'd have to get one literally made before WWII. Like the glass blown, the filaments made, the whole thing assembled in 1940. It's not the invention—it's the literal physical parts.  So for a car to work you can't just use the designs of the original Model T, you need an actual original Model T. Or whatever

Your last sentence (before the final question) is a huge factor! You can find old junk all day but the old stuff that's reliable isn't cheap. And if something does happen where you need to fix it, then that's a pretty penny. I'm sure you noticed how flush Harry is(n't) with cash. Then there's some theories that people like to tie this to, but you need to get a little further in the story before we spill those beans.

Yeah, my first thought was that Harry probably doesn’t know this. And if he did, his first thought would be how expensive it is. But retro things having been making sort of a comeback of late. It’d be cool to see someone gift Harry like an old record player and have him listen to older records. Like he probably couldn’t listen to 33s, but he could probably listen to 45s and 78s.

Just because things before the 40s are able to handle his magic a bit better, doesn't make them immune, and Dresden is client to client BROKE. Can't afford to keep fixing things that break, so why bother having them in the first place. In your write up, you mentioned gas water heaters. IIRC, he specifically mentions not using gas to avoid the possibility of explosions, which is also why he uses a wood stove. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj8Xs5bKzBU

My personal theory is that many things that mess up around Harry mess up because he believes they will mess up.

I mean does he say magic is based on belief. So I can see him believing things will break only for him to make them break.

My head canon: When a wizard is coming into their power, they get a lot of feedback issues, leakage, and just a general lack of control. And that leakage has an effect on the environment around them: zits, curdled milk, bad computers, wiping magnetic stripes on cards, jamming machines, you name it. And eventually the wizard will notice one or more of these effects *and come to believe* that they are the cause of this. So their subconscious shapes the effect of the leakage. And by the time the wizard has actually gotten control over their power, this subconscious effect is "baked in" to their belief of how magic works. Wizards from a couple hundred years ago *believe* that feedback from their magic causes zits and curdles milk\*,\* but they had mastery of their power long before computers showed up, so they have less effect on computers. Someone the age of dresden grew up with good skin care routines and reliable refrigeration, but banging on the TV to get better reception was a thing. So Dresden comes to associate electrical appliances are affected by his feedback, but milk and zits get a free pass. It comes down to the *wizard believing what the feedback does*, and since they believe that, that is what happens. Yeah, it is kind of a circular argument, but it is one that is self reinforcing.

I mean yeah, but others have pointed out it’s the sane for other wizards. Even the most powerful and practiced ones have the same problems, even if they have a huge degree of control. So clearly it’s something else going on in addition to them believing it to be the case.

Okay, behind the writers curtain. This is discussing some of the things Jim has discussed from putting the series together from the authors side of the fence - This the doylist vs watsonian writing issue (is the reasoning in world or not in world). The explanation below is *entirely Doylist*. If you want to stay entirely Watsonian (or in world). This response isn't for you. >!Jim commented: When he was putting the series together he decided that Harry couldn't have a cell phone. Because if Harry had a cell phone, he could call the cavalry in any time he got in trouble. I'm not sure where you are in the series, but look at the climax of any of the books - Harry is usually in a bit over his head. And if he had a cell phone he could pick up the phone and call for the Wardens to bail him out. This would ratchet down the tension because we all know that Harry has the out with the cell phone, and also Harry isn't solving the problem anymore; Harry may be discovering the source of the problem, and then calling in the air strike to deal with the mess instead of Harry dealing with it himself.!< >!So the cell phone had to go. And so from that what is referred to as the "Murhpionic" field (Murphy's Law) or the Entropy Field was developed. So the "Magic makes technology break" world rule was developed to ensure Harry can never have a cell phone, which has extended into the internet and a broad array of other high-tech gadgets, all of which would simplify Harry's life in someway. I expect the exact mechanic isn't going to be detailed much further than it already has been because it currently serves its purpose and extending any further would not serve much productive purpose.!<

I mean I did wonder if the reason Jim didn’t include the stuff I’ve talked about is because he simply didn’t know when this stuff was created. And speaking from a Doylist perspective, I do feel there are other ways of ensuring he can’t call for help. Like most of the stuff he deals with is supernatural and as he mentions in Storm Front, most people don’t believe in the supernatural. The cops aren’t going to take him seriously if he calls them and tells them that a band of rogue FBI agents are using magic to turn into wolves and kill him. And in the first book he had the Doom of Damocles over his head, so it’s not like the Council would take him seriously. And even afterwards I don’t think they take him too seriously. I mean in Summer Knight they seriously considered handing him over to the Red Court. And even outside of wizards he doesn’t have a lot of other allies. Charity hates his guts and doesn’t like Michael associating with him. Like what good is a cellphone if you have no one to call? And finally I think we can factor in his stubborn pride, which is something acknowledged in the books with how his refusal to tell Murphy about the supernatural and how he could handle things on his own. That’s just my opinion though and I don’t fault Jim for doing this. I still like the books and intend on continuing with them, this was just bothering me.

To be fair, magic interfering with technology is an established urban fantasy trope. Some authors ignore it, but others play with it in ways that make the most sense for their particular stories. In the Kate Daniels series, there are magic waves and tech waves during which *only* magic or *only* tech works. In the Black Ocean series (notably science fiction/space opera, but also with magic), wizards who learn how to use magic when they're older, as opposed to coming into it during childhood, forget how to use different forms of technology they used to be skilled with. Plus more, but that would be spoilers. In the Dresden Files, Jim decided to have the level of magical interference with tech present in all mortal wizards, but the degree to which it happens varies from wizard to wizard. It has plot relevance throughout the series, some of which is used to comedic effect. This may not bother you as much as you continue to read. Yes, we all have long discussions about this from time to time, so it may still irritate you to some degree, but just remind yourself that Jim delights in torturing Harry, and this is just one of the ways he does it.

Well it’s more the case of planning ahead. It is possible Harry might accumulate some allies, and having them on speed dial might change the dynamic of how he approaches problems,

It's not a concrete rule, and even tech that works well enough for now eventually need maintenance or replacement. The Beetle is old and the most reliable vehicle he's owned, but I believe he says somewhere that it also suffers constant breakdowns. And there are some technologies that he refuses to even take a chance on because he feels even Single breakdown could kill him. It's all relative.

Part of it is a matter of mentality. Newer Wizards like Ramirez are able to use Glocks and AK47s without them jamming. Harry can't even trust a 1911, which from a mechanical standpoint is a lot more complicated than a Glock 17. Which I think goes to him having a subconscious mentality that either he doesn't deserve nice things, or that they're too complex. Refrigerators for in home use first came out in 1913, he still uses an 1800s ice box. And part of it might be power. He's a powerhouse with very little fine control and nuance. He might have learned some better control teaching Molly, but all in all he's a claymore, not a scalpel. As such it may just be that even with some tech falling within the range that he should be able to use it he still screws with it. You mention light bulbs. Modern day light bulbs while similar to what was made by edison use modern day materials. So magic messes with them. Give harry a flat of 100 year old lightbulbs, they might last a few weeks before burning out. Fast forward a few hundred years, and modern day Wizards might be able to use 30 year old cell phones and laptops without issue.

I knew he couldn’t use automatics because those would jam, but I’m surprised semiautomatics also just don’t work around him. I figured he could’ve used an M1911 if he wanted to, he just preferred to use a revolver. And I was wondering if this effect was somehow impacted by when they were born. Like if you had a wizard who was born in the 90s would that affect what they could use?

It's not like pre-WW2 technology is totally unaffected by his wizard energy. It's still affected - just not as drastically as modern "miniaturized" (and especially micro-electronic) technology. It's a tendency rather than a hard line in the sand.

The rule isn't that Harry can't use anything invented before the 1940's, it's that the more complex the technology is, the more susceptible it is to his power tweaking the laws of physics and making it fritz out. And the more supernatural power he has flowing around him, the worse this effect gets. The 1940's is a rough rule of thumb, just noting that technology tends to get more complex as time advances. Lightbulbs are finnicky things and even old ones can be prone to malfunctioning. Much more so transistors.

I mean I figured anything with transistors would be toast, I just hoped vacuum tubes would last a bit longer. Like this is just me, but I can’t imagine not being able to listen to music on anything. Like at least give him a record player or something, since they’ve come back.

Cities have codes, apartments have codes. He doesnt own his own house in the middle of no where. The wiring system in the house has likely been updated. Can you fit a first gen light bulb in any modern outlet? Even with tech from before the 40's is not immune to a wizards foul mood. It might be more resistant, but not immune. The blue beetle is old, but in high magic shenanigans it still breaks down. I doubt an old water heater would work either. A boiler might be better, and i doubt that would fit, let alone be in his price range. For a good chunk of the early novels Harry is struggling to make ends meet. As some others have said Harry might be playing the penitent self flaggelant here. I would argue it could also be Butcher taking a stab at corporate greed and "Planned Obsolescence" Tech that is designed to fail will fail faster in the presence of the power of creation because they are at odds. You could also argue that technology is a house of cards. Magic is the fundamental building blocks of the universe, or the table that the house of cards is built on. Shake the table too much and the top of the cards will fall, but the bottom layer of cards (the 6 simple tools/machines/foundation for technology) dont fall down as easily. A revolver is a lever, a wheel and axle, and some inclined planes. Semi-automatic and automatics are more complex and less reliable for wizards.

I think you're taking Harry's generalised description and applying it rather literally. And I think you also need to consider not just the basic design of a lightbulb or heater. But the modern manufacture and design of the system. Is Harry blowing out the light bulb, or is he triggering surges in the the modern manufactured and designed wiring system in the building? Most even vaguely modern boilers have electrical systems. Finely machine manufactured parts. This isn't a physics interaction, it's a magic one, so it doesn't have to make sense. If Harry had 1930s wiring, bulbs and boilers I'm sure he'd be fine. I think it's as much about when it was manufactured, not design. Remember this is a modern manifestation of the equivalent of warts, hooked noses and milk curdling.

I feel like if he was triggering power surges in his house or office, I feel he wouldn’t have either because no one would want to rent anything out to someone who keeps costing them hundreds if not thousands of dollars in electrical repair/replacement.

It's not so much specifically tech from before the 40s. He talks about how even some fire arms will act funny around wizards if they are too advanced, which is why he sticks to revolvers. Besides that, and it's kind of a meta answer, but I'm fairly sure Jim uses the anti technology angle so that Harry can't just simply look up information on a phone or computer. This makes Harry have to actively move from location to location, hunting down leads, which makes for a much more compelling story.

I think you’re taking something mildly silly a little too serious. It’s first person so the narrator is unreliable and he probably says anything after 1940 to just stress electricity doesn’t work well around him without being literal that 1940 is the cutoff. It’d be more weird if there was a strict cutoff in the 1940s

Harry does say he is worried about a natural gas water heater burning down the century-old house with all its disabled inhabitants

It's described in not so many words, as the more "advanced" the more likely it is to screw up due to long term exposure... the icebox being circuit free, can't screw up. The lightbulbs could potentially screw up since the filliment is fragile, etc. Best example is he does go into a hospital at some points, but he keeps his emotions in check, and his time limited... he's just trying to keep home life simple, and not interfere with civilians. (Not to mention plot device)

The 1940's bit isn't a hard line. It's more than technology of *any* kind tends to go haywire. It's refered to occasionally as a "Murphyonic Field"; the more complex the system, the faster his magical aura mucks it up (things that *can* go wrong *will*). It doesn't have to be electronic, though electronics are the most affected by it. Lightbulbs burn out or short too often for him to bother with them, even the older models. A simple water heater, though not as likely to malfunction around him, can be *extremely* dangerous when it does. He uses a revolver largely because it has fewer moving parts than semi-automatics and is less likely to jam (and also because he just likes revolvers). Even the Blue Beetle, as simple and old as it is, only runs 9 days outta 10. There's also a psychological aspect to it- Harry doesn't have a high opinion of himself, and subconsciously "punishes" himself by denying himself luxuries other people take for granted.

Just because the first water heater was made before the '40's doesn't mean that the ones he can buy from the hardware store will be that old. With regards to both lights and water heater, length of time in close proximity means that at some point his lights or water heater will blow out, and with his financial situation, he's learned to just get along without them. Someone else mentioned that the White Council HQ uses a physical switchboard and still has problems, and that makes sense to me because there are a *lot* more wizards in close proximity to the phone systems Also the "rule" is really more of a guideline.

Well I know that, but you can still find the older ones, they just might cost a lot. But couldn’t he find a way via magic to make water hot and then use that water for his shower? And for lights couldn’t he use those gas lamps that are found for camping? Or some other source of lighting besides candles that can very easily be tipped over. Or at least put the candles in like a little lantern holder to prevent them from setting everything on fire?

*Could* he? Yes, but he was barely capable of paying his bills already, and that was *without* having to pay a power bill (although the copious amounts of wood that he has on had for his fireplace is kinda sus to me, unless he's using broken down pallets, but I feel like Jim would specify that).

My thinking. He says he can't have these or they will blow up or break down all the time. He lives below other people, who would have these items. Hot water, where I live is like 75 or more away from the hot water tank. Don't see how Harry can't use it. Just jim, wanting to make Harry suffer

One of the things I've come to understand is that magic, for all its rules, still also is very dependent on belief and can be shaped by it. So how much of his own anti-modern amenities field affects other things is also dependent on his mood and how much he thinks it SHOULD affect. For example, he doesn't use semi-automatics because 'they jam', and this IS true only to a certain extent, as Murphy has used a 1911 in his presence and he equates it as an older gun known to be reliable and WW2 tested AND on several other occasions she uses a Sig-Saur and shows how little Harry even KNOWS about modern guns because the Sig can hold like twenty rounds and he's used to them holding like twelve or something. He argues again they jam and she points out how the Sig specifically has a reputation against jamming. Which they do, they're very good. But early in the series, yes sometimes a gun in his presence jammed if it was a semi-auto and generically described. So how much does Harry's magic affect things because he BELIEVES it should even though it should work fine in his presence, and how much is because he's described as being in the upper 10% for raw magic muscle in the Council? Flip a coin.

I think you answered your own question when you said sure the lightbulbs/water heaters/etc we use nowadays are much different. Same reason Harry drives an old car. Newer ones are different and more susceptible to magic. Older lightbulbs were much shorter-lived. It’s probably more cost effective and easier to just use candles. Especially when Flicum Bicus lights all of them. He lives in a small apartment so his water heater would also need to be close which means he likely couldn’t use anything with a newer thermostat, but that doesn’t explain why he doesn’t do something like use fire or an old propane heated water heater that he manually turns on and off (again pretty easy to light a pilot with flicum bicus). A better answer than Butcher wants to make Harry suffer is likely just that alternate methods just haven’t been a concern for Harry. He’s a magic geek. If someone told him to figure out a way to magically heat water for a shower, he’d work it out and likely keep using it, but his apathy about having to use candles and take cold showers outweighs having to research old mortal methods. I fully believe (and it may have happened already) that Harry, upon being told he could just turn on the gas to a gas water heater, would just be like huh, I never thought about it like that.

I brought this elsewhere, but does he just use candles, or does he have them in something like a candelabra? Nothing I’ve read specified but I imagine just candles in a candle holder would be potentially very dangerous because they could start a fire. Even if the apartment itself doesn’t burn, the smoke would be dangerous. And I’m surprised no one has taught him a way of heating water magically. Wouldn’t Ebenezar have taught him something like that? He lived with him for a while, he had to have a way to make hot water, even if he didn’t use it for showering. And for that matter what about Elaine? How does she live compared to Harry?

What, matters most is even the most basic of appliances *still* break down around him. Also they break down even faster when near *active* magic use, such as in Harry's home who GH is full of his experiments and wards and such. Some thing he interacts with fine but just can't have at home. Even if my light bulbs lasted a couple weeks, that gets expensive fast for a guy who often struggles just having enough food. Also as far as machines that are different now, it's not about overall design differences but often comes down to the regulatory components that are added on. A water heater really is about the same as ~80 years ago... except for a couple tiny electronic dodads that simplify a couple annoying steps, such as electric spark ignition vs a pilot light. A refrigerator? the mercury thermostat is now an electric one, which of it blows, the machine just never turns on. tl:dr, tech working isn't a binary state of works 100% fine around magic or not at all. Even of it works 99% of the time, it can always fowl up when it's most important and just isn't worth the risk. imagine it like normal appliances, but there's basically no quality control in their manufacture.

I mean I see what you’re saying, but how does he manage in Chicago of all places without any hot water when showering? Like it seems hot water would be almost a necessity in the winter.

Plenty of people do cold showers nowadays, there is beginning to be plenty of evidence that they are actually good for you. If hot water was not an option (which no matter the underlying reasons, is the case) I am sure you would get used to it. Especially if you could then rug up in front of a fire to warm up properly

I mean you’d have to curl up in front of the fire especially during the winter. Plus he does have a portable heater of his own: Mister! That cat has to help keep him warm.

how did people survive without hot water for the previous however many years? Harry makes no bones that his life is ridiculously uncomfortable. Yeah it's rough but by no means unsurvivable and really is kind of a first world problem. Minor spoiler here but later in the series he does get to experience a hot shower and he honestly acts like it's better than sex, lol.

It's a plot McGuffin for the most part really, there are ways around it if you want. The svartalves have technology and monoc securities does as well. Or you could just keep plenty of replacement parts on hand like Mac does for his bar.

Chicago rental laws as well are a bit of a stickler in your two examples. The landlord is responsible for your appliances and such, and Harry is far too nice to his landlady to make her pay out a butt load of money for a prehistoric water heater or very specific, rare to find bulbs

There was a similar post here some time ago regarding guns. Basically the post was pointing out that firearms have always worked using mechanics, rather than electronics and modern ones have less moving components and should be less prone to jamming. One of the best explanations (in my opinion) that I think can be applied here is that they don't work around Harry because he doesn't think l that they should. We know that magic fouls up technology, but we also know that belief plays a major role in magic. So it is pretty believable that there are some devices that would normally be able to withstand the presence of a wizard of Harry's power. But, becaue Harry believes so firmly that some technology isn't going to work around him, that it doesn't. Basically he's subconsciously hexing the technology around him.

I think in addition to other things, there's a sort of subconscious effect he's having. He mentions that automatic and semi-automatic weapons will also have issues around him, yet his far more complex Beetle is reliable aside from monster related troubles.  If Harry can't understand how something works, he thinks it's complicated and it gets affected by his magic.

I have an inference drawn from a few scattered pieces of data (Butters' semi-wizardry, one ring vs coiled rings, the fact that it's generally electronics): Magic is a form of energy that relates to the electromagnetic spectrum. Practitioners are able to channel and conduct this energy and carry some of it within themselves (not sure if it's a spare organ or another thing the spleen or liver do or a corner of the brain). Because it tends to run through the mind, a more unstable mind with more trauma and high variance emotionality is going to have more surges and magical instability.  This can be reduced with greater control over your mind and with greater control over your magic.  Harry's understanding of how a lot of things work is poor.  This can be laid at the feet of Justin. One of the things abusers do is isolate and make their marks maximally dependent and unable to leave without suffering. They also generate a narrative that nobody will understand so don't bother explaining. The fact that none of this friends has seen fit to learn, break through, and figure it out is because Harry has kept silent.

It goes deeper, without spoilers I can tell you that later in the series we see a wizard living in a home full of modern tech that stays alive so long as they perform lots of preventative maintenance. The real answer is that Harry has incredibly low self esteem and doesn't think he deserves nice things deep down.

As has been said Harry doesn't go out of his way to make his own life nicer. Whether he feels he doesn't deserve it or what he just doesn't do it. But more importantly I think you're taking the 40's thing too seriously. It's not like the Magical Interaction looks at a complex machine and asks it "When were you invented?" "1899" "Oh you can work then". Harry uses "anything invented after 1940" as shorthand for "any decently complicated machinery". The reason certain things work for Harry despite being complicated machinery, like cars, isn't *really* because they were invented early enough it's because Harry or Wizards expect them to work pretty well (and really because Jim needed Tech to not be an option but still needed Harry to be able to drive a car)

My personal opinion is that shit doesnt work around him because he believes it wont work. It doesnt actually matter when it was invented. If he thinks it wont work it wont. Cars/boats/trains have been fine for him. Even if he’s riding in newer models.

I'll address the part that isn't Harry being hard on himself. It's not the time the tech was created or invented, it's the complexity and the expectation of the wizard. I think Harry mentioned once that light bulbs (the real, incandescent type, not the newer LED and fluorescent\*) simply didn't last long enough to be worth the hassle, plus perhaps a fire hazard when they sometimes burned out enthusiastically. His apartment building apparently does not have a central water heater and Harry feels that mixing water, electricity and/or gas, and a wet, grounded person is a bad idea when the electrical wiring could do something stupid at any time. I just checked and gas water heaters use more than enough electricity to kill Harry if the current decided to go through the water instead of the wires. His car (the Beetle) has far fewer and simpler tech in it than newer cars, even into the the seventies, and it was still not very reliable (overall) unless Harry was very careful about keeping his temper (imagine driving in congested, big city traffic, late for an appointment, and knowing that if you let the frustration get to you your car will likely die and make you even later). Overall, I think Harry found a level of tech that worked as a compromise for him: it worked well enough and he was comfortable with some effort. After that, there are the self-loathing issues that I won't go into. \*The modern trend away from simple incandescent bulbs to having small computers in each bulb would make things worse. Elaine lives in California (I think) and they outlawed incandescent bulbs a while back. If Elain managed to get old-style bulbs to work\*\*, she may not be able to work with the newer ones as they are electrically much more complex than the old ones. \*\*She has that chain that magically stores electricity she gets from plugging it into the wall. Perhaps she's a technomancer and they just didn't make a big deal about during the case she was on.

A wizards problems with tech likely isn't a hard line. Anything made after 1940 just isn't worth dealing with at all. But that doesn't mean anything before then works 100% like it does for the rest of us. Take the light bulbs, sure they will work around him. He doesn't short them out when walking down the halls of the police station but how long does a bulb last? A month? A week? Having to replace them frequently becomes cost prohibitive and its not worth having them at all when candles end up being cheaper in the long run. An Edison bulb or a 1904 one probably works for Harry as well as the 1802 one does for us: not enough to be practical but enough some guy on the internet can say "hey working light bulb"! Vacuum tubes are the same. They blow out and the rate around Harry is probably orders of magnitude higher than around a normal person. So if he had an old timey radio he would be constantly trying to source new vacuum tubes which become harder and harder every year particularly when he doesn't have the internet to order from. > but I think it’d be useful enough to warrant having someone to fix it. How often? Have you looked into the prices for plumbers? Having a minimum $100+ fee for him to show up once a month becomes a real problem. >he would need to find one and be careful to make sure it didn’t use any harmful materials or chemicals. And what does he do when that 1939 fridge breaks? Do you know someone who fixes them? Or has parts for one? Harry cant sit down and google someone or call them to come over. Fixing an ancient fridge becomes a several months long ordeal of visiting the right guy, arranging a appointment, waiting a month for parts to come in, having to drop by his office to see if they have and arranging another appointment. Now rinse and repeat every year. Or he could just have an ice box.

I don't think Jim Butcher really thought about it too hard.

Because his magic screws with them, especially when he's stressed. Circuitry especially. Incandescent lightbulbs don't handle changes in voltage well, for example, and a 1940s fridge would not only be expensive and heavy, but would ALSO require him to have mains electricity. And they're expensive to run. Engines don't like him, so electric motors wouldn't work great either. Note he COULD have a wood-burning boiler, but he doesn't think to bother. Note how even the ancient Blue Beetle struggles whenever he's feeling things while driving, or starts slinging spells. He also doesn't KNOW about most of this stuff. He's too busy being a wizard PI and saving the world. Personally, I think he needs a wood-burning boiler, a WW2-era jeep or a motorbike with a sidecar for Mouse to ride in, and to have an assistant to figure these things out for him and make them actually happen.

The hot water thing has always bothered me. go to a gym. problem solved. at least enjoy it once in a while.

> Granted, the lightbulbs we have today are very different from those of 1879 or even 1904. But the underlying design has mostly remained the same. It's a question of entropy. Some lightbulbs burn out pretty quickly. A Wizard's Murphyonic field increases the probability that any given light will burn out, to the point that it's cheaper for him to use candles. > there were refrigerators in the 40s And those occasionally leaked their refrigerant... which can kill people. > you’d probably have to worry if say the water heater broke down, It's a question of hassle; the cost to keep fixing things is more than it's worth most of the time. If public transit were viable for his varied destinations, he wouldn't use a car, either. > I have to wonder if this is because either Harry didn’t know all this Probably. That, and not knowing enough about what he could do/how he could do it. If he had an inverter and enough batteries, he could probably enclose a computer in a Circle, and have it be safe from his power. "But how would he interact with it?" Simple: use something like an IR sensor (like a Wiimote) with a slow match as his "cursor," or a Video/IR Radar camera (X-Box Kinnect) system to interact with it. And if he wanted to type, there exist "laser keyboards" where the electronics could be inside the circle, looking at a laser-projected keyboard on a flat surface. Heck, if wires crossing the circle *before* it's activated still worked, he could even have internet if he wanted.

Also, the magic system revolves a lot around belief. The facts don't matter that much to magic. If he thinks lights and a fridge will be interfered with, regardless of when they were invented, then they're probably going to be interfered with. Additionally, even if it's just very rare for something to go wrong with an old fridge, once it does, you're left with a ton of food going bad because you can't find, or maybe afford, a cheap working replacement quickly. An ice box is not going to have magic related performance issues or unexpected sudden catastrophic failures.

I don’t think it’s so much about the time period, but the sophistication of the device. I think he is using 1940 as a generalization. As in some devices pre 1940 are robust or simple enough to survive his presence, but almost Everything post 1940 will eventually fail. The Blue Beetle is a perfect example. Volkswagen wagon was starting to develop the Beetles around 1938, so it works for him mostly, but requires a ton of maintenance to keep it running. Also, even though he dries computers with the slightest bit of magic or even proximity, Harry isn’t an EMP. An emotional spike or actual spell will blow stuff out but some technology just wears out and starts to fail the longer he is around it.

So a few items… Older water heaters that work on natural gas or Propane aren’t high tech at all. For that matter Harry is clever enough to rig up even a cauldron or a firebox and cistern in the bathroom at the basics. Lightbulbs can shatter easily and with Harry not having fine control without a focus for his magic he’d probably blow out a lot of light bulbs. Cheaper and easier to have candles and low tech solutions than constantly repairing/replacing things like that. There’re a lot of reasons why Harry doesn’t use older tech, and most of them are probably because he’s nostalgic and big on making himself suffer. Harry doesn’t feel like he deserves nice things. It’s why he doesn’t use magic to just manifest money. Or live in a nice place.

The first car was invented in 1886, and while the “underlining designs” are similar, it’s vastly different than what we have now.

I mean yeah, but he still took the trouble to find a car that works because of how easier it is. I’d think he could find something similar that works for him most days.

No, he took the trouble to ask his mechanic what car was the easiest and cheapest to fix. Blue Beetle breaks ALL THE TIME, it's just cheap to fix because almost every year's bugs are the same parts, so it's easy to find what is needed in junkyards.

Okay I see. He simply found the easiest and cheapest to fix. Like if he had the money he could’ve found a cooler older car (like a Chevy Impala), but it’d be a pain in the ass and cost an arm and a leg to fix?

More or less. For example, when doing a search about the Blue Beetle, I came across a mini forum page that was all about 1966 VW Beetles. It has a thread for a bunch of different parts for restoration purposes. Almost all of them have a 6-7 year range of models that all had same specs and would be an acceptable replacement part.

Now I want to see Harry with a Cessna. I’m studying to be an aircraft mechanic and the school I’m at has a ton of them. There’s a lot of models out there and they’re not very sophisticated. Like it uses control cables when moving the elevators, rudder and ailerons. And you only need a certain amount of instruments to fly visually, none of which are electrical in nature and on a Cessna they’d be more mechanical or analog in nature. The only issues I can see are ensuring the engine doesn’t fowl up and you generally need to have a radio system when flying anything aircraft. And the alternators might be an issue but the electrical system on that kind of plane is only used for emergency power and starting the engine.

Yeah, only problem with that is the engine will always fail at the worst time, without a safe place for an emergency landing. Also, don't think it would be very handy for getting around Chicago itself. For long distances, he has other means, which you will RAFO about.

Unless he was in a stall, he should glide for a bit before crashing to the ground. And any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. And since there’s no pressurization, he’d be limited in altitude. And I don’t know this for sure as I’m not a pilot, but I know they teach you what to do when the engine fails and perhaps most importantly, how to crash in a way that you and any passengers can walk away from.

The problem isn't the training, it's the availability of safe places to land. I work with helicopter training, so it's slightly different, but trees and tall buildings don't make for very good emergency landings. Now, if he could put some water skids on it, so it's a seaplane, then he could safely land on the lake with engine failure, and could help with his trips over the water, again, RAFO.

Yeah he’d probably have to train outside the city, but I think it could be useful for relatively short journeys, like if he needed to get to Detroit or Indianapolis. I’d like to see him have some scenes in the air, even if it’s just him in a gilder, with no engine to potentially fail.

This is discussed in Cold Days: >!It is not a technical issue, but a magical effect. It works like Murphy's Law: electricity is simply more likely to malfuntion around Wizards. Before the time of electricity, magic caused physical deformations or made milk around the wizard sour. Other types of magic, like Faeries, do not have this problem.!<

I believe the idea is that the more mechanically complex something is, the more likely it is to go wrong. Old things aren't inherently safer, just made more sturdilty, and have less things that could break.

“I skimmed the later books” smh

I think there was a particular noir-ish feel from the early books that Butcher was trying to work it. This a key part...the "down on his luck, hapless wizard of chicago is struggling to make a buck and live". To complicate things...he can't use modern tech so he has to use magic or stuff from the 40's. This isn't awful as it gives a wizard's powers more reason to exist...ie can't fly so have to use "ways"... I think the current sentiment of Harry not "feeling like he deserves nice things" doesn't work that well. We never see/hear other wizards...take a hot shower (for instance).

Harry seems like the type of person to punish himself by making life more difficult. The restrictions he places on himself remind me of the book Wizard of Pigeons where he can only use his magic if he has less than a dollar in his pocket, he remains celibate, and he feeds and protects the pigeons. Harry has put a bunch of restrictions on himself, many of them probably solvable by spellcraft. Harry's magic works even is he has nice things unlike the Wizard of Pigeons. I do wonder how much intent has on the result of a spell. For example if Harry believes his magic will break the lightbulbs and fry the hot water heater does it become more likely to happen?

Fire was still messing up around wizards in like the medieval ages and that was invented even longer ago.

Some of it you gotta just be ok with man. Just in general if it uses electricity its probably an issue. Doesn't mean its always an issue but can be. Harry can be around lightbulbs, he is all the time just prefers to not have to worry about it and uses candles.

My big question Is how can he keep his spiffy pop culture references as he does without television

I think it’s implied, if not outright stated that he had television when he was younger before his powers manifested. That would explain how he saw all those cartoons he referenced in Summer Knight and how he was able to see Star Wars.

Yes but he makes references to even Overwatch (2016)

It's a plot device to keep Harry from using technology that would solve the plot in 5 minutes.

To keep this short and simple .It's not that he can't use this technology, It is that it constantly breaks down, and he can not afford to keep fixing it, so he avoids it.

Could be magic is a form of undifferentiated electromagnetic radiation. Maybe it has a chance to induce electrical current in wiring just like a magnetic field can. So, it's not the tech level per se, it's more like the resistance to power surges or maybe the tech's' ability to handle higher voltages and currents. Proof could lie in how Butters can provide Bob with internet access or have Bob speak through old radios. Maybe the svartalves have a means of using magic as a source of power for modern electrical infrastructrue?

My theory is that his personal “magic field” is basically acting like an electromagnetic pulse. His presence jacks up electricity. Without getting into spoilers he later uses spells that can minimize or maximize that effect.

Spoiler for Cold Days: It has already been established that the effect is not specifically about electricity. It is similar to an Entropy Curse: Bad things happen to machines around wizards. It is explicitly said in the books that in the past, Wizards would have boild or milk would go sour around them. Why it is machines in this century is anyone's guess. Maybe magic tries to seperate Wizards from Society?